MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[falcons2010]

Hey Fellow GNAC fans...I am sorry I haven't been on; forgot my password and work has kept me too busy. But, the young falcons as I have been calling them in my head are off to a 2-0 start. There are a lot of new faces. I think these guys can grow into something special; maybe not this year, but Coach Oliver has some guys who can play. I believe the GNAC will be open this year. Most basketball coaches want their guys to develop and get better to be ready to play in February; I wonder if Coach Oliver is going to use the regular season as an extended pre-season to get these guys ready for a playoff run. Also, let's see if there is a mid year transfer or 2 coming in.

I was shocked to see no Lex Perez on the roster. I thought he along with Walters and Lovell would make for a very good unit. Disappointing end to Jennings Falcon career last year. I thought he might come back this year, but that isn't happening.

We were very spoiled the last 2 years. The best teams in falcon history! Albertus takes a step back, but still should finish top 3 in a weak GNAC conference.

Let's go Falcons!!!

PS. I remember the days we had more guys on the roster than wins; and there were more points scored than fans in the seats.

[7express]

J&W looks really good so far.  I'd guess J&W and Albertus will be 1-2 in some order with probably St. Joes (Maine) and Lasell grabbing the 3 & 4 spots in some order, with Anna Maria looking like the sleeper who could crash the top 4 party.

[eslaps]

Amcats with a loss last night to #5 Amherst.  Team was scrappy all night, trailing by 3 at half and it was a seven point game with 8 minutes remaining and then things got away from them.  They got thoroughly outrebounded with Amherst scoring a ton of second chance points.  The amcats also only got the the line 2 times all night... 2 times!

Bradanese had some type of mask on, so I'm assuming he broke his nose?  Still put up 20....

Always a tough, competitive game against Clark University tonight.

Also, not sure AMC would be considered a sleeper to crack the top 4 when they've been in the GNAC championship 3 of the past 5 years (the past two they haven't), were a number 3 seed last year and were picked as the preseason number 3.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Welcome Back Falcons2010!!! I was wondering if you were going to show up this season! Glad to have you back.

A little insider info here from a newly acquired and what I think will be a reputable source is that the team just may be landing a BIG TIME transfer for the second half of this season. And I dont just mean big time as in his performance I mean BIGGGG as in 6'9 power post player!!! Will see what happens!!

At this point I would never count Oliver and the Falcons out of any contest. If they can get a true freak center and have JQ and Lovell play there natural power forward positions this team can be scary good and scary young.

[GnacAlum55]

I was able to get to the Rivier versus New England College game tonight.  Gonna be a looong year for the Raiders.  Ruff and the transfer from Lasell can play.  Not sure if they can match their 4 wins from last year though, I think it hurts to lose Jake Nelson's leadership.  I will see them early next month vs. JWU, that should be an interesting one.

[Saint-Paul]

Nice article in the D3 News about the Emmanuel women's coach on the bench for 39 years and coaching his 1,000 th game last week.  He won 750 of those games.  That's a nice record, and a nice coaching career.  Let's hope the men's coach doesn't try and stay for a 1000 games.  That could mean another 700 or 800 losses for the men's team. 

[NJBalla35]

Dave Morissette has resigned at River...
http://hoopdirt.com/diii-dirt-morissette-resigns-at-rivier-university-nh/

[Saint-Paul]

Saints pull off a big upset win over St Joe,  37 - 58, for their first win of the season.  It has been years since Emmanuel beat St Joe.  The game was not exactly well played, both teams started out cold with a 4 - 4 tie 6 minutes into the first half.  Then the Saints big man took control at both ends posting another double / double.  St Joe got into foul trouble trying to guard Emmanuel's center.   The Saints played their typical game, only scoring 58 points on 38% shooting and missing 50% of their free throws but it was enough to beat a very lackluster St Joe team.  St Joe looked unsure of themselves, missing wide open shots, showing no dribble penetration to rim, and almost zero transition game.  This was the worst I have seen St Joe play in years.  The predictions back in November about a wide open GNAC this year are about to come true.  If Emmanuel can go into Maine, play mediocre , and come away with a 20 point win, the whole conference is upside down.

[eslaps]

Amcats overcome slow start and beat an improved Norwich team by 11 on Tuesday. Not an impressive win by the Amcats, but a W nonetheless.  Breakout game for point guard Jean-Louis who had 15 points, all in 2nd half.  Amcats improve to 4-2 with only losses coming to Babson and Amherst, both nationally ranked teams. 

Up to Riv tonight, going up against a team that lost to Lasell by 3 on the road...

[Saint-Paul]

Saints lost to Albertus by a final score of 84 - 73.  Saints opened the game with a tight 3 - 2 zone and slowed down the quick Albertus athletes allowing the Saints rebounders to get inside position.  This is something i have been suggesting for about five years now.  It kept the Saints from getting blown out early and allowed them to stay in the game and  to take a small lead into the locker room at halftime.  At least the Saints didn't come out pressing and running, they slowed the pace of the game and were able to hang around for almost three quarters of the game.  By contrast, Albertus opened the game in straight man to man, and surprisingly did not double the Saints big man on the low post.  They played it straight man with the guards staying on the perimeter with their assignments. Wilson and Lovell exploded in the second half leading Albertus to 55 second half points.  The Albertus footspeed showed through in the second half.
     I thought the key half time adjustment for Albertus was setting the high post screen on the Saints defender in the top of the zone.  This forced the Saints wing to cover two players opposite the ball, one on the wing and one on the baseline.  Once the Saints defender made a decision which player to cover, Lovell would flash quickly into the high post area where he was wide open.  This didn't happen in the first half where the Saints defender in the top of the zone was allowed to sag into the high post area and cover Lovell.  Nice halftime adjustment.
     This is not the first time the Saints gave up over 50 points in the second half of a game.  They did it a few times last year also.  Not sure what adjustments the Saints coach is making at halftime but they are not working. 
     Saints shot 25% behind the arc, 50% from the free throw line, and committed 19 turnovers.  Saints big man again posted a double / double, his fourth in four games.  Saints fall to 1 - 4 on the season.

[GnacAlum55]

Congrats to Lance Bisson on win #1 at Rivier!  Nice upset last night of Anna Maria. 

[Saint-Paul]

Emmanuel lost to Suffolk in a Saturday afternoon contest, 79 - 72.  This game followed a familiar pattern, with the Saints falling behind early and trying to play catch up the rest of the game.  This time the Saints were down 9 - 0 just three minutes into the game and never caught up.  The Saints big man again dominated the paint scoring 12 field goals on just 16 shot attempts.  Too bad the Emmanuel guards didn't recognize or weren't told how much the big man was dominating because they took it upon themselves to jack up 17 three point shots making just three for 17%.  The real telling stat from this game was the Saints scoring 29 field goals but having only 6 assists.  With an assist to field goal ratio that low the Saints again were not running any offense, just going one on one.  One more game before semester break and the Saints sit at 1 - 5.

[Saint-Paul]

Emmanuel lost to MIT Tuesday night in a non league game 62 - 64.  This game was uncharacteristically close for the Saints.  For once they did not get blown out in the first ten minutes of the game, but stayed with in 10 points most of the game.  Saints big man again had a big game, 19 / 12, but the guards were also up to old tricks shooting 4 - 20 from the 3 point arc.  Why they are allowed to keep taking those shots is a mystery that will never get solved.  At least they didn't give up 55 points in the second half.

     Saints used their fifth different starting lineup in seven games so far this semester.  If the players who started the season were not the five best players on the team why were they starting in the first place?  If they were the five best players on the team why are they jerked out of the starting lineup so quickly after just seven games?  No wonder the moral on this team is so low.  Saints finish the first semester with a 1 - 6 record.  This was suppose to be the year of the Saint, with a GNAC finish in the top 4 spots, because of the experienced players.  Now it looks like the Saints will be lucky not to finish in the bottom 4 spots.  Thank goodness for the semester break.  Now is the time to keep an eye on the Saints roster to see who quits before the start of the second semester.

[7express]

I love your posts Paul, they are great +K!

In regards to the starting lineup: Injuries/illness, players slumping/getting hot, suspensions, matchups are just one of the many reasons why a team could use it's 5th different starting lineup in 7 games.  The 5 best players won't neccessarly start every game, but they should sure as hell be out there for the last 5 minutes of every game (unless they have already fouled out).  So, the last 5:00 minutes or so should be what your are focusing on: I don't follow the team or the conference, so I don't know if the same guys are on the floor in that time frame in all 7 games, but if they are then those are probably the 5 "best" guys, if even those players are constantly changing then there's problems.

An example of this: The UMass-Boston women have the reining conference player of the year who started the majority of games in the second semester last year coming off the bench so far this year.  Know I don't know why she's coming off the bench, there was a coaching change in the off season, so it's possible that's the reason, and I think she was hurt the first couple of games, so that could be it as well, but even though she's not starting, she's constantly ending the game on the court.  The Western Connecticut team in 2012/13 (ADB....After Daquan Brooks) went through about 20 different starting lineups IIRC (mainly because they were constantly shuffling guys on and off the team, but for the most part of the season the 5 best players ended the game on the court most nights whether they started that particular game or night.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Trying to watch the Brooklyn - Albertus game - video not coming in.  Sad.