MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[falcons2010]

I watched the game also; they are very disciplined defensively. They have really good shooters as well. Felt as if they made 40 3s; the guard runs the offense and has a great shot but looks to hit his wide open shooters. I don't know enough about this Albertus team to know if they have a shot to be competitive. Last year team struggled with perimeter defense. If that continues this year Albertus loses on Saturday by double digits.

Not sure how good Hood is; they were disorganized on offense a lot and gave up a lot of wide open jump shots.

Albertus keys in my opinion are:
1. Hold them to 10 or fewer three pointers made
2. Win the battle of the boards
3. Hold them to under 80 points

[D3HoopJunkie]

1 MORE DAY! 1 MORE DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Saint-Paul]

Saints start the season 0 - 2 after traveling to the Roger Williams tip off tournament.  Saints got crushed in the first game by a good RWU team 75 - 58, and lost the consolation game to a mediocre Frammingham State team, 74- 62.  Saints new starting line up looks like three guards, a small forward, and a power forward.  They will have trouble with teams that have athletic posts and quick point guards.  Saints game plan appears to be the same again this year, run wild with a defensive rebound, jack up a lot of three's, and full court press if they make a shot.  Teams that have a good press break and can get to the rim off the bounce will give the Saints a lot of trouble this year.  Don't see the Saints in the top four of the GNAC this year unless they suddenly start making a lot of three point shots, which is unlikely against good defensive teams. Let's get at least one win before Christmas so most of the players will return after semester break.

[Falcons 25]

Albertus Magnus Vs Swarthmore game short  & sweet analysis:

!. TERRIBLE CENTER Play By Amir & Liam- THREE REBOUNDS BETWEEN THEM.
    Team outrebounded by : 14!!   (46 to 32)
2. Bad overall Defensive effort: Swarthmore shot 51% from the floor & 39% from 3-point land.
3. SIX TEAM ASSISTS!!!  & of course a terrible shooting percentage (20% from Three!)

Good points: Ryan Pittman had a great game- 19 points & NO TURNOVERS in 40 minutes !
                    Mason Jones- 18 points, but TOO MANY TURNOVERS!
                    J. Walters- yeoman work @ 21 & 9 Pts. & rebounds.
Missing in Action: Aaron Fox & J. Green-Younger? (Did not play!)
Next game: W.P.I. @ THE NEST 3pm This Coming Saturday
(With New Haven Refs. which should Help!!)
                   

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Being outrebounded by Swarthmore by 14 is actually pretty good.  They led the country in rebound margin last year.

[D3HoopJunkie]

I thought Albertus played pretty well considering it was the first game of the season.

We need to remember that it is going to take time for guys like Maddred, Perkins and Bilal to get comfortable with playing in a new enviorment and new team.

All the credit has to go to Swarthmore, they were an outstanding team and Cam Wiley was as good as advertised. I actually thought the defensive effort was there for the Falcons, the big issue was rebounding. Maddredd got into foul trouble almost right away and that really limited him for the rest of the night. Perryman did absolutley nothing but I suspect he will continue to improve, just like he did all of last season. Swarthmore's two bigs were both excellent players who crashed the boards and new how to finish inside. There guards also did an outstanding job banging the boards.

I wont speak on the officiating because since I wasnt present at the game and only watched online, I find it hard to justify griping what you dont see in person. That said, foul trouble really hurt both Maddred and Walters, perhaps they were justified, perhaps not but they need to clean this up.

If you compare this years team to last years team I think this team has more overall balance and depth. However, where was Jahmerikah Green Younger?? The one glaring difference that I noticed compared to last years team was that we didnt have a guy in this game like Devin Coleman or Grant Ellis that I felt could come down and bang a three in someones face when we needed to stop a run or go on a run ourelves. Something to watch going forward, lets hope Jahmerikah is healthy or at the very least still on the team because I felt like he could be that guy for us this season.

TO's weren't really an issue. We had 9 in total and for a 40 minute game against a team like Swarthmore that is very good. I think it might have appeared worse because a few of them came in the second half and Swarthmore did a great job in converting and scoring off those turnovers. Again, it was all about rebounding and second chance points.

Ryan, I completley agree with you that being outrebounded by this team is OK, but 14 is still quite a few and with the athletes and size upfront that Albertus has, I expected them to compete more on the glass than what they did.

Player of the game has to go to Ryan Pittman, hands down the most underappreciated player on the Falcons. He played exremely well and deserves a lot of credit for his hustle and overall play.

Not worried about this team at all going forward. I think we are going to be just fine and come seasons end we will be a legitmate team and contender. If we play this Swarthmore team 10 times, 5 away and 5 at home I think we split right down the middle! A great opponent sure, but unbeatable? I think not.

And lets not forget about the arrival of A'jen English as well for the second half!

If someone gets wind of what happened to Jahmerikah, please update the board!!! WPI next Saturday at THE NEST!! Should be a great home opener!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Griping about officials isn't something you can do when you play the aggressive style Albertus does.  Some games will get called tighter and you have to learn and adjust.  Everybody does.

[Falcons 25]

"aggressive style" of play? When I grew up THAT was basketball. Taking the game away from the players is doing an injustice to
all the players.
That said, teams that play "aggressive", have to see & adjust to the unfortunate reality of some of the officiating today.
Finally, in the Albertus vs Swarthmore game officiating did not cost A.M.C. the game. Factors within their control did &
I am sure they will be addressed by Coach Oliver.

[Smitty Oom]

I know I am not an Elite Mind of the GNAC or AMC, but Swathmore is one of the best teams in the nation who already had one game under their belt and less moving parts going into this year than it appears AMC had. I think the Falcons will be just fine come Feb!

Sidenote: This Swathmore teams is FUN!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

"aggressive style" of play? When I grew up THAT was basketball. Taking the game away from the players is doing an injustice to
all the players.
That said, teams that play "aggressive", have to see & adjust to the unfortunate reality of some of the officiating today.
Finally, in the Albertus vs Swarthmore game officiating did not cost A.M.C. the game. Factors within their control did &
I am sure they will be addressed by Coach Oliver.

That's the way I like to play basketball, too, but part of it is knowing what the officials are calling and adjusting.  You just can't complain about officiating unless its inconsistent - and it wasn't in that game.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

I will paraphrase story from the new DIII men's basketball referee coordinator who refereed in all three divisions including a lot of big time games in DI (Jim Haney)... when he officiated Duke games, Coach K and his staff always used the first timeout of the game (usually the media break) to immediately tell their team how the game was being officiated and what adjustments they as a team and as individuals had to make. It seems so obvious, but I am amazed by how many coaching staffs rather complain about officiating than help their teams adjust.

Per the conversation about "aggressive play" being called... that's the rules. It isn't new. We have been talking about it for years. I have never minded some contact, but the game has moved from very physical (too physical) in the 80s and 90s (primarily in the NBA) back towards less physical and now back towards extremely physical especially in college. It feels more like street ball where the foul is only called if there is blood (being sarcastic).

Coaches, administrators, etc. in the NCAA in conversations with the National Association of Basketball Coaches have decided to take a lot of the unneeded physicality out of the game and trying to free up the offenses so we don't have ugly games of the past. Those are the rules and the directives. Complaining about them doesn't do a bit of difference. Adjust accordingly or sit out for too many fouls.

I will add, the new coordinator of officials will eventually make a huge impact in making the game a bit more universally called across the country. I truly look forward to that.

[Falcons 25]

Great News on Monday morning! Endicott beat Babson by 10 @ "THE DAM"!
A.M.C. will be ready & "THE NEST" will be rocking! (11/29)
W.P.I. next up on 11/25 @ 3pm @ "THE NEST"!
GO FALCONS!!!

[Saint-Paul]

There is a big, very big, difference between calling aggressive fouls, and calling touch fouls.  Calling aggressive fouls keeps the game under control and allows talented players freedom of movement. Calling touch fouls ruins the flow and rhythm of the game, and directly effects the outcome.  Some experienced officials are very good at understanding the difference between aggressive fouls and touch fouls, and other officials just don't get it and call every touch a foul. Officials discuss this fine balance between keeping the game under control and allowing a natural rhythm and flow to develop before the game, but once touch fouls are called they cannot be undone and taken off the board.  Most coaches actually talk to their players twice about the way the game is being called, once in the first half and again early in the second half, because the officials also talk at half time about the flow of the game, and sometimes it changes.  The best situation to hope for is to get a set of experienced officials working your game.

[Falcons 25]

Thank you, St.Paul, you explained the inconsistency in officiating games perfectly! Now, maybe someone will listen!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Thank you, St.Paul, you explained the inconsistency in officiating games perfectly! Now, maybe someone will listen!

Except those "touch" fouls are fouls.  They've been part of the rules for more than a decade.  It's not like some refs call them and others don't.  Each game is unique.  Players have to adjust.  Saying it's soft or weak is just living in the past.