MBB: University Athletic Association

[deiscanton]

I'm excited that the Brandeis seniors will have a chance to play Lasell and pay them back for the time that Lasell beat Brandeis in the Brandeis men's tip off tournament a few years ago.  Auerbach Arena will be jumping on Friday night. 

BTW, is it fair to call a third first weekend sited pod in the same defined region "phantom"?  I know that traditionally a defined region gets 2 first weekend sites, but the men in the Northeast got 3 sites last year for the first weekend, and so did the women for the first weekend. Brandeis deserved to host this weekend, and I am glad that the men will be hosting.  Amherst and UMass-Dartmouth got first round byes, so I think that's fine.

[deiscanton]

Note on 1st round game of Brandeis v. Lasell--

The last meeting between the two schools was the championship game of the Brandeis Tip Off Tournament on Nov. 20, 2005.  Lasell won that one by a score of 67-64. 

[pabegg]

I'm excited that the Brandeis seniors will have a chance to play Lasell and pay them back for the time that Lasell beat Brandeis in the Brandeis men's tip off tournament a few years ago.  Auerbach Arena will be jumping on Friday night. 

BTW, is it fair to call a third first weekend sited pod in the same defined region "phantom"?  I know that traditionally a defined region gets 2 first weekend sites, but the men in the Northeast got 3 sites last year for the first weekend, and so did the women for the first weekend. Brandeis deserved to host this weekend, and I am glad that the men will be hosting.  Amherst and UMass-Dartmouth got first round byes, so I think that's fine.

The "phantom regional" was a term that I coined some time ago. Historically, the NCAA has tried to let the top two teams in each region host the regionals. The Atlantic regional lost that consideration several years ago, creating an extra regional that could be assigned to the best #3 ranked team in the area east of Ohio (including the Virginia/North Carolina area).

In any case, Brandeis was always a pretty obvious selection for this spot this year (and since they're playing Lasell instead of a bye, it's clear that they're #3). Note that the East and Mid-Atlantic region have two hosts, as well as the South host in the east at Guilford.

So, please, this isn't a negative commentary on Brandeis, but rather a statement of how the hosting works.

P.S. This is only a men's thing. This doesn't apply to the women, who seem to ignore the regions for bracket purposes.

[ILive4This]

thanks for the clarification, I thought that was how it was meant but I was not sure, I am also a bit surprised by the UMD bye, but I see it as "acceptable"

Alan thanks for that, I remembered Lasell playing at the Tip-off tourny a few years back but I could not remember if they played Brandeis or not. Now that you brought it up, I remember that game clearly, I personally was shocked, but Lasell always packs a punch.

Besides the closeness of these two teams, another interesting thing to note is that much of the student athletic training staff at Brandeis are actually Lasell students.

[Greek Tragedy]

Hoop Dreams,

Nice work on the tourney page on the Chicago profile.  Just a couple of questions...

Are the big guys bangers or more versatile and face the basket and play around the top of the key?  Point seems to have a tough time against big post bangers.  Jeff Skemp 6'10 (Platteville), Dan Beyer 6'8"? (Eau Claire) and Dane Seckar-Anderson from Oshkosh probably can be considered bangers in our league and especially Skemp ate us up.

Also, if your guards are really quick, you'll have the advantage.  DJ Marsh (listed as a 6'4" forward-Oshkosh), Matt Goodwin and Myles McKay from Whitewater and Miles Webb from Stout gave us fits because they are so quick. 

Does U of Chicago play solid defense, are they good at shutting down the opposition's "star" player etc...Point does not really have a star player.  We can go 10 deep without really missing anything from our starters.  Our starters usually don't play 30 minutes and will have 8 or 9 guys log 10+ minutes.  They rotate the players on the floor and most everyone can hit the 3.  We do have some very quick players in Kalifa El-Amin, Drew Jackson and Jared Jenkins, but the latter two are more for defense.

I think Point Special will be putting up a Team capsule for Stevens Point this week.

Thanks for your time in responding.

[Hoop Dreams]

Are the big guys bangers or more versatile and face the basket and play around the top of the key?  Point seems to have a tough time against big post bangers.  Jeff Skemp 6'10 (Platteville), Dan Beyer 6'8"? (Eau Claire) and Dane Seckar-Anderson from Oshkosh probably can be considered bangers in our league and especially Skemp ate us up.

Chicago does not really feature classic back-to-the-basket post players -- not like you typically see in the WIAC.  Tim Reynolds is listed at 6'7", 205, so he's a pretty skinny guy.

Also, if your guards are really quick, you'll have the advantage.  DJ Marsh (listed as a 6'4" forward-Oshkosh), Matt Goodwin and Myles McKay from Whitewater and Miles Webb from Stout gave us fits because they are so quick. 

The Maroons' top 3 scorers (Hainje, Corning and Pancratz) all can put the ball on the floor and get to the basket.  Much of Chicago's offense is based off of dribble penetration.

Does U of Chicago play solid defense, are they good at shutting down the opposition's "star" player etc...

Chicago is a solid defensive team.  Jake Pancratz, as I mentioned, is a great defender and is usually assigned the opposing team's top guard.  The Maroons were able to limit the effectiveness of Wash U All-American center Troy Ruths on Saturday by throwing different bodies at him and making him earn his points from the line.

It sounds like Point and Chicago might be somewhat similar teams.  UWSP may have more depth, but Chicago's Big 3 are difficult to match up with.  It should be a good game.  I know WIAC teams are always tough in the tournament.  Chicago was eliminated by WIAC teams in 1998 (Platteville) and 2000 (Stevens Point) and barely beat Eau Claire in Chicago in 2001.

[Hugenerd]

Carnegie Mellon hosts Grove City tomorrow and NYU plays at St. Joseph's tomorrow in their respetive ECAC tournaments.

UAA with 6 teams in post season play, not bad.

[Gregory Sager]

Are the big guys bangers or more versatile and face the basket and play around the top of the key?  Point seems to have a tough time against big post bangers.  Jeff Skemp 6'10 (Platteville), Dan Beyer 6'8"? (Eau Claire) and Dane Seckar-Anderson from Oshkosh probably can be considered bangers in our league and especially Skemp ate us up.

Tim Reynolds and Tom Watson post up, as does nearly every Maroon -- the team's offensive sets are based upon postups -- but they're serviceable big men, role players and nothing more. Neither Watson nor Reynolds is someone with whom UWSP will need to concern itself much.

Also, if your guards are really quick, you'll have the advantage.  DJ Marsh (listed as a 6'4" forward-Oshkosh), Matt Goodwin and Myles McKay from Whitewater and Miles Webb from Stout gave us fits because they are so quick. 

Chicago isn't a particularly quick team. Nobody has what I would consider an exceptionally quick first step. As Hoop Dreams said, the Maroons offense is predicated upon dribble penetration, but it's not your classic, streetball-type gunslinger slashing -- it's dribble penetration that's based upon good preliminary ball movement, recognition, and from slips out of the post.

Does U of Chicago play solid defense, are they good at shutting down the opposition's "star" player etc...

Chicago's not a great defensive team, but it is a good one. Hoops Dreams mentioned the performance against Ruths last Saturday; the Maroons stopped Ruths by: a) giving him the open ten-footer if he wanted it; and b) collapsing upon him when he was five or six feet from the basket, knowing full well that if Troy Ruths gets to within two or three feet of the basket it is for all intents and purposes a guaranteed layup against probably any defender in D3. That's not specificially relevant to UWSP, of course, since the Pointers don't have anyone like Ruths, but it does illustrate that Mike McGrath not only game-plans effectively for defense but that his players are consummately capable of executive that defensive game plan.

Point does not really have a star player.  We can go 10 deep without really missing anything from our starters.  Our starters usually don't play 30 minutes and will have 8 or 9 guys log 10+ minutes.  They rotate the players on the floor and most everyone can hit the 3.

Chicago isn't deep, but it is versatile. In fact, "versatile" is the best word to describe the 2007-08 Maroons. Star 6'5 forward Nate Hainje is pretty much the guy whose picture is in the dictionary next to the word "versatile", but Adam Machones and Matt Corning are good-sized wings who can also shoot, defend, dribble, and rebound without any real weaknesses in those areas. Jake Pancratz is a good, steady point guard who can also defend, penetrate, and shoot the trey. You won't beat Chicago with specialists; you have to beat the Maroons by having each of your players do everything a little bit better than each of the Maroons do everything.

[ILive4This]

thats six out of six, as emory and case are not eligible for ECAC tournaments geographically. At least I think this is the case.

well i guess the math is more complicated than this, because all 8 had a shot at the NCAA tournament, but only 4 of the teams have a shot at the ecac tournament, so....

[Hugenerd]

2007-08 UAA Men's Basketball Honors

Player of the Year: Nate Hainje • University of Chicago

Rookie of the Year: Kevin Herring • Case Western Reserve University

Coaching Staff of the Year: University of Chicago • Head Coach Mike McGrath,
                                           Assistant Coaches Jarred Samples, Jim Prunty


2007-08 UAA MEN'S ALL-ASSOCIATION BASKETBALL TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Joe Coppens Brandeis 6-3 G Sr. Rockland, MA (Rockland)
Matt Corning Chicago 6-4 G Jr. Wauconda, IL (Mundelein)
Spiros Ferderigos Emory 6-1 G Sr. Oldsmar, FL (Berkeley Preparatory)
Greg Gonzalez Carnegie Mellon 6-8 F/C Sr. Southlake, TX (Carroll)
Nate Hainje Chicago 6-5 F Sr. Brownsburg, IN (Brownsburg) † Player of the Year
Tyler Nading Washington 6-7 F Jr. Highlands Ranch, CO (Thunder Ridge)
Troy Ruths Washington 6-6 F Sr. Sugar Land, TX (Stephen F. Austin)


SECOND TEAM

Robert Dominiak Rochester 6-3 G Sr. New York, NY (Birch Wathen Lenox)
Ryan Einwag Carnegie Mellon 6-5 F Jr. Pittsburgh, PA (Baldwin)
Terrell Hollins Brandeis 6-4 F So. Springfield, MA (Longmeadow)
Uche Ndubizu Rochester 6-6 F/C Sr. West Windsor, NJ (W. Windsor-Plainsboro)
Jon Onyiriuka Rochester 6-7 C Sr. Painted Post, NY (Corning-Painted Post West)
Jake Pancratz Chicago 6-1 G So. Schaumburg, IL (Schaumburg)
Steve Young Case 6-2 G Jr. St. Louis, MO (Marquette)


HONORABLE MENTION

Brandeis: Stephen Hill, Kevin Olson; Case: Mason Conrad; Emory: Anthony Fernandez; NYU: Keith Jensen, John Mish, Charlie Parker; Chicago: Tim Reynolds; Rochester: Mike Chmielowiec, Jeff Juron; Washington: Cameron Smith, Aaron Thompson

[Hugenerd]

Some surprises:  Greg Gonzalez makes first team over both Rochester big men.  Nate Hainje deservedly wins Player of the Year (some though Ruths would repeat). Corning making first team over Pancratz and Dominiak is also a bit of a surprise.

[Hugenerd]

CMU beats Grove City tonight 72-61.  Greg Gonzalez had another huge game with 13 points, 19 rebounds, and 4 blocks.  Ryan Einwag had 21 points and Geoff Kozak had 15.

NYU also won 83-79.  John Mish had 19 and 11.

[dblock]

How do you guy feels about the UAA Honors?

I think ROY should have went to NYU's Richie Polan.

[Hugenerd]

Given that the coaches saw all the players they are voting on and I havent, it looks like they went mainly by point per game.  Herring averaged 12.2 ppg (16th in the conference), 3 more ppg than Polan (27th in the conference). 

[Hoop Dreams]

You all know how highly I think of Nate Hainje, so I'm thrilled to see him win UAA Player of the Year.  Nothing against Troy Ruths, who has had a terrific career and is probably the best post player this league has seen since Derek Reich.  I'm guessing if Wash U had won on Saturday, Ruths would have been POY -- so it's fitting that Hainje's 23-foot rainbow three with 49 seconds left on Saturday not only sealed the win for Chicago, but the POY for Nate.

Congrats also to Mike McGrath and his assistants for winning UAA Coaching Staff of the Year.  In my opinion, this team represents McGrath's best coaching job during his very successful tenure in Hyde Park.  I say this because of the production he had to replace from last year, the vast improvement of the Maroons from November until now, the team's confidence level, and the number of wins against great teams required to win this year's title.

Mark Edwards also deserves recognition for the job he did at Wash U this season.  To lose a PG as good as Sean Wallis and still finish 2nd in the UAA and be going to the tournament is a credit to the Bears coaching staff.