MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[D3HoopJunkie]

Thats unfortunate to here Saint.

I too thought this would be a good year for Emmanuel to maybe make a push for a top 4 spot and have a better opportunity at making a deeper run in the GNAC tournament. Coach Jackson must have some very strong ties within that program to be able to hold onto his job this long with such minimal results. Either that or he is a smooth talker as well? Who knows

[D3HoopJunkie]

Well Falcon fans I just got some big news. And unfortunately it is not good news.

Shontaey Lovell will not be back this year for the Falcons. Apparently he tried to make the jump to a higher division. Whether or not he was successful in doing so is beyond my knowledge right now but I can confirm that he will not be back. Disappointed for sure but we still don't know the complete list of transfers and newcomers on this years squad. Lovell was undoubtedly a big time player and had an outstanding freshman season in terms of number for the Falcons.

It will be interesting to see how this team shapes up once we see everyone together on the court. Tuesday will be here before we know it. Does anyone know if Babson has a Live Video stream for the game?!?!

[falcons2010]

That's disappointing news for falcon fans but exciting news for him. I hope that he was able to find an opportunity to play at a scholarship level, earn his degree, and have a great career.

From an Albertus supporter stand point it is a huge lost. He was an all regional caliber player. I have already been thinking of the growth by him and walters. Along with having Ellis for a full year who is a pure shooter. That team with no additions would make Albertus the team to beat in the GNAC. Not to mention the hype around some of these recruits possibilty putting Albertus in a situation to win a NCAA game. We have to see if anyone can have the interior presence that he had lastvyear. Which has been a staple of Olivers offense. He likes to play fast and shoot the ball but always had the players who can get high percentage shots when needed; Askew, Watson, Vic.. hopefully one or two of the new guys can do it.

This is a tough first game, now made that much more difficult. Babson is a final four team that brings back a lot of players. Last year they had live streaming. I would imagine they have it this year as well.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Believe it not, the 2016-17 basketball season is just days away. But the season can't start without Hoopsville hitting the air!

Tune in tonight starting at 7pm as Dave talks to the two preseason numbers one teams, finds out how the offseason went for the two defending national championships, and touches bases with the men's and women's basketball committee chairs.

Guests include:
- Kevin Vande Streek, men's basketball committee chair and head coach for Calvin
- Bobbi Morgan, women's basketball committee chair and head coach for Haverford
- John Tauer, head coach for No. 10 St. Thomas men
- Dave Hixon, head coach for No. 1 Amherst men
- Jeff Hans, head coach for No. 4 Thomas More women
- Carla Berube, head coach for No. 1 Tufts women

You can watch the show here: http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2016-17/nov13

You can also tune into the podcast(s) after the show has aired:
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/hoopsville
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hoopsville/id1059517087

Don't forget you can always interact with us:
Website: www.d3hoopsville.com
Twitter: @d3hoopsville or #Hoopsville
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Hoopsville
Email: hoopsville@d3hoops.com
YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/d3hoopsville

[lildave678]

One day from the opener and we still don't have a roster up 

[D3HoopJunkie]

LilDave......So frustrating! There are a few teams in the GNAC that still don't have their rosters uploaded!!! Including Johnson and Wales.

I don't know if this is some type of cat and mouse between coaches to hold out as long as possible in terms of scouting. But it is super annoying to the fans of these teams!!!!

I suppose it could be on the SID as well but who knows!?!?!?!

[D3HoopJunkie]

Ask and you shall receive I guess!! The roster for the upcoming season has been uploaded.

http://albertusfalcons.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/roster

The Falcons have also been tabbed to finish first in the preseason coaches poll as well.

http://albertusfalcons.com/sports/mbkb/2016-17/releases/20161114hk3t4j

Going to dive more into this later on and give my prediction for tomorrow night!

[lildave678]

A heck of a lot of new faces. I noticed Shaq Mitchell is back on the roster as well.

Jemaa Yuori transfers in from Quinnipiac where it looks like he walked on.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Tons of new faces. A lot of freshman which is nice to see including some very good size up front.

It will be interesting to see how these guys come together. And even more interesting to see how Oliver uses his rotations and finds out what works best as the season progresses. That to me is the mark of a truly good Coach, one who can understand his team completely and make all the pieces come together. That sometimes may not always require having the most athletic or necessarily best player on the court from one particular moment to the next.

[falcons2010]

Hey guys... good to have college basketball back. Especially as we get ready for a new falcons season. A lot of new faces and two names that are missing. Lovell and James. I believed that lovell, pittman,  Walters, and Ellis were good enough to win the GNAC. Without adding anyone. Now, missing Lovell and James means relying on the new faces to have a greater impact on the team. I have not seen nor spoken to anyone about this team. So, I, like many of you am eager to see the talent of this team. It takes a long time to build chemistry so, as fans, we need to show patience.

Looking at the roster, I see some size which I like and a lot of the new players have track and football backgrounds. They are athletes. Coach Oliver loves to play an uptempo style and preaches turnover and transition baskets. If these guys have the foot speed and technique to play team defense then they should be hard to beat in the conference.  Pittman is a tough pg who will only get better. Ellis has the best pure shot I have seen in a while at Albertus. Walters is a long player who finally knows how to control his body and can create for others. Jones is a scoring machine. It will be fun to see them play.

Babson however is a final four team that has a lot of pieces back including an all american and poy candidate. I don't expect this team without any chemistry to beat Babson. But like I said before, it will take at least 10 games to evaluate this team.

[Albertus2007]

Playing well without Mason Jones and Grant Ellis.  Need to stay composed and take god shots.

[falcons2010]

Good first half by falcons shot the ball well. New guys have some confidence; made some mistakes with the ball but like I said they are going to need 10 games.

But where is Grant Ellis and Mason Jones?

Anyone know

[Albertus2007]

Jones is gonna miss first few games with wrist injury according to new haven register. Not sure about Ellis.

[falcons2010]

Falcons drop game one 101 to 81. The score is as bad as some people might think. Babson is ranked #3 in the nation. They are coming off back to back deep runs in NCAAs including a final four appearance with the same core; all 5 starters returning. On yhe road with a bunch of new players it was going to be tough to beat them.

Positives
1. Alberus has some young talent. Mitchell, Green-younger, coleman each had a great first half.
2. Albertus ball movement was great.
3. Walters jump shot was more consistent

Things to work on
1. Finding an interior scorer; lovell was that last year.
2. Not having defensive breakdowns; as Babson was getting stops and making baskets; Albertus allowed a lot of easy baskets to stretch the lead
3. Turnovers - Albertus was very sloppy with ball
4. Free throw shooting; has been an issur for a while


I would love to see these two teams play again after the freshmen have played a few games and arguably their two players play in the game. Ellis doesn't play defense but he can shoot and not sure what Jones can do yet but am excited to find out. Hopefully they see the court quickly.

[Saint-Paul]

Saints open the season with a 78 - 95 loss to Pine Manor at the Wentworth tip off tournament.  Saints aggressive pressing, trapping defense held Pine Manor to 60 points in the first half.  Saints were only down by 32 points in the first half and made a heroic effort to keep the difference under 20 by the end of the game.  Lots of new players on the team and in the game.  Saints came up a bit short on team chemistry giving Pine Manor extra opportunities with 28 turnovers. Pine Manor took advantage scoring 33 points off Saints turnovers.  Saints sharp shooters tickled the twine for 36 %.
     Wentworth lost their end of the tip off tourney to Emerson, so the consolation game should be a even match up.