MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[D3HoopJunkie]

Couple days away from the season tip off and I am a little disappointed as it looks like this board may have lost a few posters (in particular Albertus Fans)

Normally the regular's have chimed in by now with some Albertus dirt of their own but it is not looking to good. Hopefully with all the recent success and with this years team looking more or less like a retooling year (I will not use the term rebuild) that this will not deter people from supporting and coming out if they do have what now would be considered an off year. Boy have we become spoiled LOL. Anyone remeber being lucky enough to win a single game before Oliver showed up? Because I sure do!!

[WPI89]

Good luck getting back your "friends" D3HJ - last year I ended up talking to myself about 90% of the time on the NEWMAC board!

[GnacAlum55]

D3HoopsJunkie,

Interesting story...I actually just texted with him (he lists his personal cell # on the HoopDirt web site).  Just lobbed a text into him to see what would happen and asked what he was up to.  This was his response:

"Thanks for reaching out brother.  All is well on my end.  HD got big, fast, so I need to focus my energy on running this thing for a while.  Been a lot of fun!  Will follow the GNAC closely this season - great coaches in the league.  Keep in touch.  DK/AN" 

[D3HoopJunkie]

Thanks WPI......Maybe I'll make a few appearances on the NEWMAC Board this year! I like to follow the NEWMAC as well and have much respect for the majority of the programs within that conference (Basically Everyone Except Springfield) Your league is consistent year in and year out and always produces a team that competes well come March.

GNACAlum55......That's very interesting! Good for him! Was Suffolk a full time head coaching position or part time? Either way it appears he is following something he truly enjoys and wish him all the best. I thought his color commentary was excellent the past 2 years in the GNAC Championship coverage as well. Not sure if you have said it before but what school did you play for? If you don't mind me asking?

[GnacAlum55]

D3HJ,
I played at Riv back in the early days of the GNAC (mid-90's).  I was there before a lot of the current kids on the roster were born!
Look forward to following the league again this year.  Sounds like JWU could be the team to beat. 

[lildave678]

still here my friends haha, just as a 2010 graduate this is my first year where I have NO ties to the team. With a full time job and a wedding to plan for it's tough to carve out some time for a "team I never played for" (fiances words haha though of course I played soccer). However, I did catch a good chunk of this game and I'm as intrigued as ever...not because I know we'll win the GNAC or make it it to the Sweet 16, but outside of Walters its a crap shoot to me. This team doesn't have anyone going pro (At the moment, congrats Big Vic by the way!) but this could be the most balanced team we've had in a while. Balanced could be mistaken for underrated which I'm kind of hoping happens. The ball movement was absurd today against a decent team (by decent I mean not the bottom half of the GNAC). It was almost too unselfish, but I'm looking forward to see how this team grows together.

I know Neri is coming off a major injury but hes still a 7 footer playing D3 and he made little difference tonight. That showed me this team can formulate a plan and execute!

[Saint-Paul]

New season, new players, new line up, same result.  From the Regis tournament, Saints lose to Emerson  76 - 64.  Emmanuel played catch up the whole game.  Just 6 minutes into the contest Saints were down 21 - 8.  By halftime it got worse, 45 - 30 .  Through the first 20 minutes of this game the Saints big man had only one low post touch from their set offense.  I just don't get that game plan? Maybe Emmanuel was using their big man as a decoy so that their non shooters could get open looks from the perimeter.  Well, it worked, the Saints guards shot 2 - 26 from the 3 pt line.  Again,  the Saints had only 8 assists for the whole game.  That lack of ball movement directly reflects on other parts of the game.  Poor shot selection leads to run outs for the other team, defensive misplacement, and unnecessary fouls.  Saints big man finished with a 20 point night mostly through his own efforts.
     Consolation game tomorrow against Wentworth. Let see if the Saints can hold them under 45 points for the first half.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Albertus Magnus alert - freshman Shontaey Lovell went for 21 and 17! in their opening win tonight.  That's against a seven footer, too (granted one apparently hobbled by his injury last year, but still).

[D3HoopJunkie]

I was impressed with this team in last nights victory. It was a very sloppy game and they certainly need to improve but overall I thought it was a good first test for this extremely young Falcons squad. Let not get to carried away here because it was the first game of the season, but again I was fairly impressed.

HoopsFan.....Shontaey Lovell was absolutely sensational. To think this kid is a true freshman is amazing. If you see this kid and look at his body, he is so developed and so strong already its downright scary. He is going to be a force for Coach Oliver for a long time! You cant teach a kid how to rebound, you have to just have instincts and be a beast and he has all of these qualities.

Jaqwan Walters had himself and excellent game as well. At 6'6 he is about as skilled an athlete for his size that you will see at this level. His ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim is uncanny for a kid his size and he's only a sophomore. He sometimes gets a little bit to out of control but that is what you get with youth!

Chaunce Dunbar's shot will come along as he will be looked to as major scoring contributor for this season. He can really light it up.

The PG position worries me a little because last nights PG depth and overall performance was a bit concerning but there was a kid on the bench named Bernard Kline who didnt play but from what I understand he is dealing with a bit of an injury. Once he is healed up, I think he will be our go to guy.

Marshall James.....Our 6'8 center was bothered by 2 quick (ridiculous) fouls early so he never got going but when he was in the game he looked a little bit lost. He is very skilled for a kid his size but he really needs to improve on the mental part of this game.

Marc Wilson, our senior and leader was hobbled a bit last night. Looked like he twisted his ankle and never returned. This team will no doubt need him to contribute this season so lets hope he recovers quickly.

I really like this team. They are gritty, they are scrappy and they looked hungry to learn. They listened to Coach Oliver and looked eager to play with each other. They are going to be just fine this season. I am not saying they will go undefeated but we will be in every contest and come February when the games really count, I guarantee no one will want to see the Falcons and Coach Oliver come GNAC tourney time.

[Saint-Paul]

This is the Saint reporting from the Regis tournament where the start of the the new 15 -16 season looks a lot like the start of last year, and the year before that, and the year before that.  Saints finish the tip off tournament going 0 -2 losing the consolation round to a less than powerhouse Wentworth team.  This game was a carbon copy of last nights game, with the Saints getting off to a slow start going down 26 - 7 just 10 minutes into the start of the game.  For the second straight night the Saints defense gave up 45 points in the first half and the Saints played catch up the rest of the way.  The Saints big man recorded another double / double and the guards kept up their torrid pace going 2 - 13 from behind the 3 point line.  That is 15% for the math majors out there, an improvement of 8% over last night's baseline mark.  At the D-3 level recruiting spot up shooters can't be all that difficult.  HS players who can knock down shots but don't have the foot speed to play at a D-2 or D-1 level are all over the place.  All of the Saints opponents appear to have no trouble recruiting them.  Well, I guess a starting line up change is in store for the next three or four Saints game until  we find the correct combination.  I thought that was what 4 weeks of preseason practice was for.  On to the next game.

[eslaps]

Anna Maria got a solid come from behind win against an always tough Becker team.  Fell behind by as much as twenty and came back to win in OT.  Rough night from Bradenese, shot like 30% from the field and 25% from 3pt range.  Pryor and delorey carried the load for the amcats yesterday.  Tough test coming up for them as they travel to Amherst and then Clark back to back on monday and tuesday.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Nice update eslaps! Can we expect you to be a GNAC contributor this season??? Judging by your posts I am assuming you are an AMCAT supporter? Would love to get more discussion on here regarding some other GNAC teams seeing as this board is dominated by Albertus fans.....myself included!

I wish there was someone out there affiliated with JWU who would contribute to this thread! I am sure there would be a few real nice discussions considering the rivalry that has become Falcons vs. Wildcats

[D3HoopJunkie]

Albertus 99 Mitchell 91.........What an ugly game!!!

I was not able to attend in person last night but watched the broadcast over the computer and lets just say I am glad I didn't waste the gas on a trip to New London.

It was a win and with a squad as young as Oliver's this season you just have to take it and move forward. Albertus came out I thought really well jumping out to a 20 point lead in the 1st half. They moved the ball well, played somewhat in control with the exception of a few bad TO's and Chaunce Dunbar was absolutely lighting it up from deep.

And thennnnnnnn the 2nd Half started. Mitchell came out looking to attack more with there guards and was fortunate to hit a few shots that were just flat out lucky bounces and rolls. This bothered the young Falcon squad a great deal. I knew that road games this season were going to be interesting but the amount of TO's and just bonehead plays that took place simply can not happen on the road against teams like JWU, St. Joes, Lasell or even Anna Maria. These teams will take advantage of the mistakes and it will cost you a win.

Last night they won out simply because they were still a more talented and balanced team. We certainly have a new look to our squad this year and I am kind of liking it even though the struggles will be there all season long! Shontaey Lovell with another monster game. Back to back double doubles to start his career with 17 rebounds a piece in each game. I cant believe this kid is a freshman. Mark my words.....if he continues to work hard and focus......Oliver will have another All-American to add to the banners in 3 years. I think he has just as much if not more potential then Ray Askew when he stepped into The Nest a few years ago!

[Saint-Paul]

Saints push their early season record to 0 - 3 with an afternoon loss to Westfield State.  Saints followed a familiar pattern getting down by double digits early in the game and trying to play catch up.  The half time score was 34 - 21.  Saints opened the game with their trademark full court press and gave up a lot of easy transition baskets that Westfield didn't have to run a set offense to score. A majority of Westfield's baskets came from the press break and from transition off of the Saints missed 3 point shots.  Not sure why it is so difficult to coach college players to sprint back on defense after a missed shot.  The Saints offense was again erratic taking a lot of off balanced, and forced shots from the perimeter.  It looked like they were trying to bait Westfield into playing an up and down wide open style.  It didn't work.  When Westfield had the chance to run they did so successfully, when they didn't they pulled the ball out and ran a patient offense.  With the Saints down by 18 points late in the game, under 2 minutes, the Saints coach ordered his players to keep fouling to stop the clock and put Westfield on the free throw line.  Not sure what purpose that served, Westfield already had all their deep bench subs in the game?
     The big story of the game was the Saints big man on the sideline in street clothes.  Not sure if he was sick or injured, but without him the Saints team looked lost at both ends of the floor.  If he is out for any significant amount of time it will put a damper on the Saints hopes for a fourth place finish this year.  The frustrations of an 0 - 3 start to the season were seen on the Saints sideline as the coach had several explosions at both his own players and the game officials.

[Saint-Paul]

So far this month Emmanuel, Rivier, Lasell, and Suffolk are a combined 1 - 12, against non league opponents.  I guess these guys can't wait for the GNAC games to start so they can beat up on each other !