MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[pjunito]

Word on the street, open gym at Albertus on Thursday night... Maybe some of the returning and new players will be there...

[pjunito]

WOW.......

So, they won't be ranked to start the year... But, this team might be a force.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Schedules are out here on D3Hoops.com. Thanks again to everyone from D3Hoops for keeping us D3 basketball fans in the loop. It looks like we can officially mark it on our calendars Falcon fans, Albertus will play D1 Central CT State Univ on December 29th at 1PM. Always a treat to play in these games regardless of the outcome.

Overall I think Albertus non-conference schedule is fairly strong. I wouldn't call it outstanding but I would definitely say that there are some strong matchups with both SUNY Purchase and New Jersey City. The games against Newbury and Elms are intriguing as well IMO because both programs are well respected and well coached.  The conference schedule remains fairly straightforward. The biggest regular season game of the year should no doubt be the February 18th matchup at Johnson and Whales. JWU has been a very tough place for Albertus to play at over the past few years and I believe that these two teams will once again be battling in the end for the GNAC crown.

On to the team, from what I gather this might be Coach Oliver's most athletic team that he has had in his tenure at AMC. If we thought that we can run and gun before, wait until this year. The "bigs" that were brought in this offseason are athletic as they come and not one of them should cause the pace of the game to slow down which could be very scary for GNAC opponents. Still don't know all the recruits but from what I've heard there are close to 10 total recruits.

PJ - Were you referring to Albertus not being ranked to start the year in your previous post?

[pjunito]

Hey Junkie,

Yes, I was referring to Albertus being ranked...

It looks like Albertus has a total of 8 new players: 3 who will start, four transfers.

Yes, I think this is the most athletic Albertus has been under Oliver. I think they will be really tough to defend. Eian Davis is the new point guard; he is quick, look for lots of steals. And their bigs have better feet than bigs last year. I think you can see lots of fast break opportunities... Oct 15 is almost here, we should see rosters and some practices at that point.

[D3HoopJunkie]

PJ,

Thanks for incite on the team. Eiean Davis looks like a stud and has plenty of experience under his belt. I love how Oliver is able to recruit and bring in these JUCO transfers. Most GNAC teams were probably thinking and hoping that with the loss of Albertus's senior class the conference might open up a bit more but from what I have heard and seen, this team may already be much better than last years and even years past.

I'm curious to know who you think the three new players that start will be. I don't think it will be three but that's my opinion. I think Oliver will elect to go with the players who have been with the program and understand his offense best. Oliver is so passionate and loyal to his players and the game. That doesn't mean he won't pull one of them out of a game in a split second because we have all seen that, but I really believe that Jennings, Sanders and obviously Watson will start because of their relationship with one and other and the fact that they are the foundation and leaders of this team. The other two starters for me are totally up in the air. I would love to put Lemar's name on this list but we all know about his inconsistencies, to be totally honest I think the best thing for him is to come off the bench. Less pressure and he gives us great depth.

Your thoughts? Also can you elaborate on some other recruits if you have any more info.  I have heard that there is a big from a JUCO school in NJ but still haven't gotten a name.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Its official College Hoop Fans,

October 15th marks the 1st official day of organized practices and workouts. Within a month the D3 season will officially be under way and I can't wait to see how the season transpires. The last couple D3 seasons have demonstrated such parity and it has made the conference tournaments and NCAA tournament that much more exciting.

Looking forward to a great season

As always, (Since this is the GNAC thread) Go AMC Falcons!!!

[pjunito]

Hey GNAC Fans.... It's November 1st! Hoops season is right around the corner.

I didn't go to Midnight Madness, but I have heard  that Albertus has a solid looking team. Now, of course, lay up drills in October don't necessarily mean the team has any talent.. So, with that being said.. here is a breakdown of the team.

Guards:
Jennings - rising sophomore, quick guard - needs to make better shot selections
Saunders - hurt at end of year, strong defenders, shot over 45% from 3 point range
Davis - Explosive guard, transfer from ASA in NY. Strong defender and good ball handler
Jackson - Freshmen from West Haven HS, don't know to much about him

Forwards:
Watson - best player in conference last year...
Victor L. - Can't pronounce his last name, transfer student from ASA, good ball skills around the hoop
Wilson - Didn't play last year, could be most athletic player on team

Center
Gibbs - Very raw talent, big body, will get some minutes but will need work
Larson - Junior Starter, has improved each year and should continue to do so this year. Very athletic

There isn't a roster up yet on the website....

I can get more information on the other new players soon. First game is on Nov 15 at the Mitchell Tournament.

[lildave678]

Looking forward to some more information from you PJ, as well as the roster once it's posted!

[D3HoopJunkie]

Thanks for the roster update PJ,

On Halloween night Albertus played a scrimmage against ASA which is a junior college and happens to be where 2 of our new recruits came from in Eian Davis and Victor L. (Can't spell his last name) Albertus performed quite well, they play two 20 minute halves and essentially break each 20 minutes into its own separate game. The teams split the contest one winning the 1st and the other winning the 2nd.

Eian Davis is an absolute stud, lighting quick with the ball can score and finish from multiple angles and is also a great distributor and defender.

Victor L is another great addition. Hes a legit 6'8 and can score with great post moves and strong finishes inside and also has the ability to step out and hit 3 pointers at a very good percentage.

This will hands down be the fastest and most athletic team under Coach Oliver. The starting backcourt IMO will be both Davis at the 1 and sophomore James Jennings at the 2. These two guards on the floor at the same time will easily make for one of the fastest backcourts in the country, hands down.

My other predicted starters are Darius Watson who is the best player in the league by far, and Victor L. The last position will be up to either Marcus Walker who was another transfer from JUCO at Union City College or Lemar Larson, the Junior forward who as PJ has mentioned has improved every year.

I know my lineup has changed from previous posts but in light of the new recruits and information on them I think that was likely to happen anyways. Bringing Julian Sanders and also JUCO transfer Kyle Wiggins off the bench is a deadly combination of shooters who can flat out score the basketball.

This team is going to be outstanding once they mesh together and find there rhythm. I say it takes a solid 3 weeks to really figure it out but once they do it's off to the races.

Tre Gibbs is going to be a stud to. 6'7 dunks everything in sight. Again still a bit raw but a tremendous true freshman to have on the team. Almost forgot about him.

Seasons inching closer and closer. Go Falcons!!!

[pjunito]

Junkie!

Awesome break down..

It sounds like they are deep as well. Last year team was not very deep and it should in the tournament game. They lost Jimmy Eco and Julian Saunders for that game and could not keep up with Alvernia. Here is a look at the line-up:

Davis, Jennings - Guards
Waston, Victor L - Forwards
Walker - Big Forward (C)

Off bench - Julian, Wiggins, Lersen, Gibbs - some of those guys could start on other GNAC teams..

Now, there were some other new recruits and the Wilson cousins.. Are they still on the team?

I think you will see an up tempo and very strong defending falcon team..

10 days away!!1 let's go..

Any word on Lehman and how they look?

[D3HoopJunkie]

PJ,

The depth of this team is tremendous and should not be an issue. Last year's depth was a concern from beginning to end. Whether it was freak injuries or players unfortunately either flunking off or leaving the team for other reasons it certainly didn't help their chances in the NCAA tournament. This year's team seems to have much more dedicated and high character incoming players that want to be there and understand how talented and good this team that they are part of can become.

I didn't forget about the Wilsons and I know Marc is still currently on the team and I am almost certain Rodney is still there as well. From what I heard in the past Rodney was an outstanding talent. He didn't play last year but I was told that he would have started and is a flat out scorer. So again this can attest to the depth that this team has. The scoring that can come off this bench is scary good. As for other incoming recruits will have to wait for the official roster to be posted before I can go into detail.

The scouting report on Lehman:

They are a tough typical New York City style team. Solid, quick and durable that rely greatly on their guard play. Also in the same conference as Medgar Evers who handed the Falcons an overtime loss two years ago and probably cost them from running the regular season table.

Should be an interesting matchup but overall I think the Falcons win on depth and talent. Plus we have our own New York style guard that we can lean on this year in Eian Davis!!!

I hope (and kind of expect) to play Mitchell the following night. Mitchell has made great strides over the last few seasons and I think they present a very nice early season test for the Falcons. They are both very familiar with each other and it should make for an exciting game.

I can't wait to see this team in action!!!

[D3HoopJunkie]

After thinking about the roster and knowing some information about the recruits, here is the run down, and with some info on some of the guys we haven't touched base on in previous posts.

1.Eian Davis

2.Victor L

3.Kyle Wiggins – Transferred from Dean College in MA, great shooter and an extremely hard worker, my only worry is defensively can he get the job done. Offensively he should come off the bench and score from the perimeter and be a really good contributor.

4.Tre Gibbs

5.Marcus Walker – This kid is a BEAST on the boards. A rebounding machine with good presence around the rim offensively and will be a very solid front court player who understands and knows his role. Great addition from Union College in NJ I believe.

6.Teiron Jackson – Guard who played for West Haven and I believe led the state in scoring 2 years ago. Pretty good size and can score the basketball. Only question will be can he find minutes because of how loaded the position is for the Falcons this year. If he works hard and stays on course his time will most definitely come.

7.Daylon Ore – Hartford guard who IMO is very similar to Teiron. Can score and isn't quite as big but again the depth in the backcourt is so deep. Another player who if he works hard and wants to put in the work should be a valuable player in the future.

I may be forgetting one because I think they have a total of 8 recruits??

Pair these guys up with Darius Watson, Lemar Larsen, Julian Sanders, James Jennings, The Law Firm of Wilson and Wilson and the rest of the squad. WOWWWWW!!

[jamiejohn]

I heard Ore is no longer at Albertus.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Thanks JamieJohn,

I believe that is the case but I just wanted to include him in my rundown because I was not 100% sure if he had left or not. I didnt want to leave anyone off from the original recruitment list.

[lildave678]

Anyone know of a reason why? The story on him was awesome, but perhaps he wasn't too keen on all the JUCO talent coming in?