MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[7express]

Is the Albertus/Western game @ Western or AMC??

[lildave678]

AMC if I recall correctly

[D3HoopJunkie]

Good stuff LilDave......Albertus/Western game is at Albertus and should be a nice non-conference matchup. At the beginning of Olivers era the matchup between these two programs was really a great thing to watch. Just a really nice D3 in-state rivalry between two really good programs. Unfortunately over the last couple seasons the rivalry died out a bit but I sure am glad to see them playing each other again.

I think we can expect the D3hoops.com preseason top 25 rankings tomorrow or Thursday as i saw on the multi regional board that Pat Coleman said it would be out the middle of this week!

I don't buy much into the rankings but it is nice to know where these other programs and their coaches think opposing programs are in terms of strength as well as other peers such as the guys at D3hoops.com and I beleive SID's as well.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Actually maybe Pat or Dave can answer this question for me completley...... How is the panel of voters decided? How many total voters are there? And do they vary every week?

I guess I should have said question(s)!!!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Actually maybe Pat or Dave can answer this question for me completley...... How is the panel of voters decided? How many total voters are there? And do they vary every week?

I guess I should have said question(s)!!!

I think most of these are in the site FAQ.  http://www.d3hoops.com/interactive/faq/top25

[D3HoopJunkie]

Thanks for the info HoopsFan

[magicman]

Is the Albertus/Western game @ Western or AMC??

Hey 7 express,
You don't read your own board? I gave you that info on the LEC board three weeks ago, back on October 1st. Along with the Plattsburgh State game and the College of New Jersey game.

[lildave678]

Albertus starts the season at Number 8. I believe that says a lot about how far the program has come in such a short time, when you consider those Ray Askew-led teams could barely sniff the national top 25/top 10 of the region (gaudy record, easy schedule, I know lol just saying in comparison).

[D3HoopJunkie]

Took the words right out of my mouth LilDave. Pre Season 8th is a great spot for this team who has now showed voters and basketball fans that it is not all about who you play but rather the talent that you put on the court. And I think most people would be kidding themselves if they didn't think Coach Oliver and this Albertus program brings in some of the best talent consistently now year after year. Every year they get better and better and go deeper and deeper. Last season to the Sweet 16 and with the talent they return and what they picked up in the off season this team has the ability to go even deeper this year.

Eian Davis and Tavon Sledge is just freakishly good and I cant wait for other programs and fans to watch the games and see how good these two teammates will be together.

I've never been more excited for a season

[D3HoopJunkie]

More nice news for the Falcons as Big Vic was named a preseason 2nd team All-American while Eian Davis was named an honorable mention by Sporting News!

The Falcons were also featured on WTNH News 8 SportzEdge the other day with a nice little piece on their preseason ranking as well as the team and Coach Oliver's outlook on the season as a whole!

A lot of good things happening in New Haven right now for this program!

[Saint-Paul]

Publication of the Saints roster is always an exciting time on campus, trying to keep track of all the player comings and goings. Reading who quits the team, who transfers, who returns, is more fun than reading the racing form at Suffolk Downs. Traditionally there have between 7 and 9 new players every year to make up for all the veteran players who quit and transfer in the off season. This year is no different with a grand total of 10 new players listed on the roster.  That makes at least a 60% roster turnover for the last six seasons. As long as the coach keeps filling the empty roster spots with new players the AD is happy to overlook the highest player turnover rate in the GNAC conference. Can't help but wonder why the AD is also happy to overlook 93 losses in the last 5 years, also the highest in the GNAC.

    Let's start with the transfers.  It looks like at least 3 of the 5 freshman from last years team are gone, including one freshman who was named GNAC-Rookie of the week THREE times last year.  He played in all 25 games ( 7 starts ), averaging 24 minutes per game and averaging 11 points and 4 rebound for his rookie ( and final ) season for the Saints. Also gone is the junior power forward who led the team in points and rebounds for the first semester before leaving the team and transferring to another school even though he only has one year of eligibility left.  I guess he didn't want to spend his final season of college basketball in the Emmanuel program.

    The incoming players consists of seven freshman and three upper class transfers. The upper class transfers are important because they fill the holes left by the players who quit from the previous recruiting classes.   Let's hope that at least a few of these new players can make some shots without turning the ball over. No idea what the  new starting lineup will look like.  Last year the coach started 5 new players who were not on the team the previous year which really upset the returning players ( especially the seniors )  and created poor team chemistry and poor team moral resulting in another 19 loss season. Let's hope that at least a few experienced players get to start this year but you never know. Let the games begin.

[Saint-Paul]

A few thoughts about the upcoming GNAC season.

Both AMC and JWU return experienced, talented players and should be fairly secure in the number one and two spots.  They have strong guard and post presence. They should dominate the rest of the GNAC teams by controlling the rebounding and transition games.

St Joe had a really good year last season but graduated three experienced and talented players from a team that upset both AMC and JWU.  St Joe really passed the ball well and showed very good team chemistry. Is that gone now with graduation?  Will St Joe have enough experience returning to hold on to the number three spot?  Will they fall back into the log jam with the rest of the GNAC teams?

Lasell also had a really good season last year but lost an experienced, talented center.  How will they control the defensive lane and the rebounding now against AMC and JWU?  Will Lasell also fall back into the middle of the pack?

Can any of the other GNAC teams put enough experienced players on the floor to grab the third and fourth place conference spots?  They did not show that ability last year.  The fourth through eighth place teams only beat each other last year, and those games were very close.  They were not competitive against the top three conference teams. Will that pattern repeat itself again this year?

[GnacAlum55]

After scouring all of the rosters that are posted, and talking to some GNAC people "in the know" here are a few roster items (from teams other than Albertus) that may be interesting...

Lasell lost Clyde Niba.  He is now at WPI.  I think that is a big loss.

Rivier got Javon Williams.  Was at New England College.  Had a big-time highschool career in Nashua.

Emmanuel gets Kyle Davis back.  He was a STUD in JC.  Looks like he will be a force inside. 

Suffolk has Quinn McCartney on their roster.  Was a big-time player in Wisconsin a few years ago.  He is an impact player in the GNAC.

Rumors are that Norwich brought 15+ guys in plus a 7-footer.  Can anyone confirm this?  There is no roster up yet.

[pjunito]

Hey Saint, you make some very good points regarding the turnover at Emmanuel. It's hard to build chemistry when the roster is constantly turning over. It's hard enough to add a few pieces and hope everyone gels; but when your losing 3/5 or 4/5 of your returning starters each year, it's almost impossible.

As far as your assessment; I hope the GNAC is more competitive out of conference this year. I think there are some good teams in the GNAC; it would be nice to see some of these teams take a jump forward.

JWU/Albertus should be at the top.

I am not sure who the third team is. St. Joe is well coached, but talent might not be there to consistently compete with JWU and Albertus. Lasell lost some key players (graduation and transfer). I know that Norwich always brings guys in and Suffolk and Riv had some young teams last year.

I am looking forward to a good season. Albertus begins action on Saturday.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Saint-Paul, great post......no question that Albertus and JWU are the top dogs in this conference. As you mentioned who will be 3rd because after that there really is a total drop-off in talent. Believe it or not my money is on Rivier! Maybe a little bold but I really like what there returning and obviously its tough to replace a kid like Poitras but I just really like what they have coming back. Obviously you can never count St. Joes out because Coach Sanicola is without doubt one of the finer coaches in the Northeast and it seems like no matter what talent he has year in and year out he is able to get his team to play hard and play together. Suffolk I believe will be much improved as well!

GNACAlum, nice updates......what a heartbreaking loss for Lasell fans and obviously the team. Losing what they lost to graduation and then on top of it your best player transfers out to another program that move just really hurts and I can definitely see it hurting this team on the court this year as well.

Albertus scrimmaged D2 Bridgeport University last night. I was not at the game personally but had a friend who went to UB and he texted me today saying he was at the game. Basically he said Albertus manhandled BU from start to finish which is very impressive considering what a good D2 program Bridgeport has and they certainly are one of those teams that can matchup athletically with Albertus. So when I got done with our conversation I was more than pleasantly surprised and cant wait for Saturday. He said the two guards (obviously Eian and Sledge) couldn't be stopped. He said there were fans in the crowd that couldn't believe Albertus was a D3 program, our center (Vic) was blocking everything in sight and the team was knocking down shots all over the place. But the biggest thing I took away from our conversation was that he felt Albertus could not only compete in the ECC but win the conference outright which is really saying something.

Does anyone know if the tournament this weekend is going to be broadcasted online? I really hope so because I don't think I could wait much longer to see this team play!