MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[7express]

Saint - Even in the off season your posts never cease to amaze me! I saw that hire as well and I honestly ran right over to their website to verify! I knew that there was no way in hell it could have been Coach Jackson from the Saints. I don't want to bash him (you seem to have that under control LOL) but I knew there was no way he made the jump to a higher division with the way his teams have performed over the past years.

And for all the Albertus supporters out there, the name of the other guard that I was trying to figure out in my previous posts is Jahmerikah Green-Younger from McMahon HS per New England Recruiting Report. I honestly dont know much about him but we shall see as they say once the season starts if he has any juice or not for the college level. All incoming guards will be behind Ryan Pittman to start the season anyways as I hope and truly believe that he is going to take a huge step forward in his progression in running the team this season from the PG position.

That kid is a great 3 point shooter.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Hey 7Express,

Care to expand on that a little? Have you seen him play live?

[7express]

Hey 7Express,

Care to expand on that a little? Have you seen him play live?

Yah.  McMahon high school (where he went) was in our league.  Our lone game against them this year forced OT with an NBA 3 from the top of the key.  Finished with 15 points with I think 3 or 4 three's.  Team went down the tubes in the 2nd part of the season (they started the season like 6-0 or 7-0, were in the top 10 in Connecticut) and finished overall like 12-8 I think.  I heard they had a lot of turmoil internally, but it wasn't through the fault of Green-Younger.  I only saw them once since they failed to make the FCIAC tournament despite that hot start, but he was definitely the best player on the team.  With that said, with the team Albertus looks to have this year I don't think he'll see many major minutes.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Wow!!! Thanks for the update 7!

Sounds like a kid who if he sticks with it could potentially help us down the road or perhaps off the bench this season!

[D3HoopJunkie]

From what I have heard it looks like Mason Jones is our official JUCO stud transfer for the next 2 seasons. He transfers in from Brookdale CC where he was a JUCO All American and Regional Player of the Year.

I was able to find last years Brookdale roster and he is listed as a Guard standing at 6'3. He put up some very impressive numbers last season. What a great addition to the team.

I cant wait to see what these kids are made of come November 15th at Babson. I just really hope they have a good webcast for the game! According to other posts I have seen it looks like Babson will clearly be a Top 10 team to start the season and could even be Top 5, maybe even the preseason #1. Either way you slice it I think that by years end this is going to be a matchup of 2 NCAA tournament teams who have the ability to go on a deep March Tournament run.

[falcons2010]

Hey guys.. Sorry, I couldn't remember my password so I couldn't post much. It's very exciting to hear about the new recruits coming in. Coach Oliver likes to play an up tempo style of basketball. So, I am sure that these guys will be able to play offense and on most nights that will be enough to win games. But what separated them from other teams was their interior defense and rebounding. Larsen and Vic were great at it and of course Askew. If one of these guys can play defense in a similar way with the addition of  Jones and retuning Ellis, Lovell, and Walters this team should earn a 1 seed in conference. Babson will be a tough matchup with so many new players; on the road agaisnt a solid defensive team. But I am excited!!

[lildave678]

yeah do we know if everyone that was scheduled to comeback is doing so? If so, does Jones just slot in for the departed Wilson and we roll Pittman, Jones, Ellis, Walters and Lovell? Hopefully some other newcomers can push for time, or someone like Dunbar takes a big step forward.

[Saint-Paul]

Saints schedule has been released and looks pretty much the same as last year.  Two tournaments, a tip off at Wentworth against some easy teams and a New Years tournament in Virginia against some tough teams. Then the 18 GNAC games along with three non league contests against MIT, Wesleyan, and Curry.  With all the graduating players from JWU, Lasell, and Anna Maria, i feel like the GNAC games should be even a little easier this year.  If the Saints were going to make a run at one of the top four spots, this year would be their best chance.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Well Albertus fans, I have gathered that Chaunce Dunbar is no longer on the team. Not a huge hit overall because I thought his season last year was a bit disappointing due to his poor shooting numbers which we all thought were going to be really good. But he was a returning player none the less. I think his game was really limited. He wasn't a very strong defender and offensively he was strictly a 3 point shooter. I just hope he stays enrolled in school and finishes out his academic career.

I haven't heard of anyone else not coming back yet but if I do I will be sure to update the board accordingly. Does anyone know of any scrimmages that Albertus is playing in this year and if they are open to the public or not? I remember a couple years back they scrimmaged University of Bridgeport and everyone was allowed into the gym that day to see the teams face off with each other. UB was a very strong D2 program at the time and we actually buried them in the scrimmage. That was the 1st year with Eian Davis and Big Vic along with Darius Watson. Same team that lost to D1 Central CT by 1 point and advanced to the Sweet 16 later in the year.

[falcons2010]

I hope that chance will earn his degree as well. I do agree that from a team standpoint his lost doesn't hurt the teams chances of earning a one seed and advancing to ncaa tournament. He could make the three ball but was way too inconsistent; which is why I believe he didn't earn more minutes. I believe that Ellis should fill the 2 guard role this year. He looks to have a more consistent deep threat.

I really liked the team coming back. Lovell, walters, and Ellis is a solid 3 man group. Now if the juco kids can pick up the offense and play with defensive intensity; then it might be a special season.

[warriorcat]

I noticed on the list this year that St. Anselm's in NH is in the exploratory year to move from D2 to D3.  Perhaps easier than finding a different conference might be to improve your own - St. A usually has a decent team.  Start recruiting.

The topic of St. Anselm moving to Div 3 was discussed last year.  I saw this item from their AD released last week.

http://www.saintanselmhawks.com/information/From_the_Directors_Desk/2016-17/ADDesk_1v5_-_Oct_21_2016_revised_final_version.pdf

They were a Sweet 16 Div 2 team last year and traditionaly put out a solid team in the NE-10.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

They are playing the waiting game... their planned move to D3 got slightly derailed... but I don't think they have abandoned the plan. A lot of NE10 teams are reconsidering their situations, so there could be more movement later. I also heard that the NE10 is frustrated with St. A. and might just tell them to go up that creek without their paddle. LOL

[D3HoopJunkie]

I just got word that Albertus scrimmaged D2 Mercy College last night and absolutley throttled them when 5 on 5 starters were on the court. I looked up Mercy and there roster. They certainly dont look like world beaters by  any stretch of the imagination. But still certainly a good sign for the Falcons this year. Friend of mine who was at the game said that the Falcons are loaded with shooters and looked like an entirely new team defensively.

We all know that overall team defense is the step Albertus has to take in order to advance into the true upper echelon of teams both within the region and on a national scale. This could certainly be the year as I have read on multiple threads that the Northeast is in a "down" year in terms of overall quality teams.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I'm not trying to rain on anything... but scrimmages, even 5 on 5, mean nothing. It's like preseason NFL football. Teams are running specific plays no matter what they are facing. They are running through specific scenarios and plenty more. The other team is there to give them different looks than they get in practice, but who wins and by what score is pretty meaningless and not something many coaches even consider when they leave the gym.

[Saint-Paul]

Just two weeks until tip off and the Saints have posted their new roster for this season.  Same old story.  Six underclassmen from last year not on the team and the spots being filled with six new freshman.  A junior guard who started 23 games and average 10 points per game is gone as well as an important 6'6 junior big man who would have added size and experience in the paint. You cannot build a program with player turnover like this. You are constantly playing inexperienced freshman against the other teams seasoned players.  With all the graduations around the GNAC this year, this would have been the year to put experienced players on the court and make a run at the fourth spot.
Starting all over again, same old story.