MBB: University Athletic Association

[KG4MVP05]

I know it's early, but how is the UAA shaping up for 2008-2009?   Any predictions?

[hopefan]

of course with 4 starters returning along with a couple of solid bench performers, Wash U will be one of the forecasted leaders, if not a unanimous choice.

Set at the 3, 4 spot with Tyler Nading, Cam Smith. with John Wolf and Caleb Knepper off the bench

Set at guard with Sean Wallis, Aaron Thompson, and Ross Kelly  with Brent Sapp off the bench

Who will replace Troy Ruths and sub Moss Schermerhorn in the middle - Somhow I think Coach Mark Edwards will figure it out - Returning Zach Kelly is an obvious answer, BUT, he needs to get better, at least defensively and rebounding wise.  Wondering if Spencer Gay would be a middle man...  We haven't really seen big men John Appel or Tom Blount play.  Or perhaps a new face?

I see on the CCIW page that Illinois Wesleyan and Hamilton are included in the Lopata  -  that will be a great tourney if a solid 4th team is added.

[Wydown Blvd.]

First, Spencer Gay is by no means a "middle man." He is a more athletic Tyler Nading if you can believe that (and actually a tidbit skinnier). The three most athletic players returning are Nading, Wolf, and Gay. John Appel is just coming back from an injury before the season even began so he will be a bit rusty. Zach Kelly was continuously in foul trouble during his season (ad his career thus far), but also was trying to fight injury during the past season.

With all that being said, I am unsure what the middle will hold for the Bears...

I would say the Bears are deep in the 1-3 spots. Cam Smith, John Wolf, and Caleb Knepper were all three players this year. Spencer Gay should be capable to back up Nading in a limited capacity at 4.

I will say that even if the Bears do not decide to go small/undersized and do keep Zach, Tom, or John in the middle, they will be one of (if not the) fastest teams in the nation in their DEEP rotation with quick players in the 1-4 slots.

[Wydown Blvd.]

Wanted to add a general question though. It seems like this year is graduating a hefty class mostly of big men, but of great players in general. Five seniors on the all-UAA first team. Three on the second team (all from Rochester). In terms of conference play, will anyone have a dominate presence in the middle this year anyway? Will this be a concern not just for WashU, but for any team in the UAA?

Also wanted to point out the contrast between the older UAA men's teams and the very young women's side of the UAA (one senior on the 1st team, and 3 on the second team). Last year for the women seemed to be the graduation of a distinct generation of UAA'ers. This year its the men's turn to do some identity searching for the upcoming season. Any thoughts?

[martin]

I hope the Maroons are picked fourth or fifth in the coaches' poll once again - that has worked out pretty well for them the last couple of seasons.  Looking at the past 11 seasons, the average finish by school has been:

Washington University   1.6
University of Chicago                   2.1
University of Rochester   3.2
New York University   4.2
Brandeis University   5.5
Emory University   5.5
Carnegie Mellon University   5.8
Case Western Reserve University   6.6

The top four are usually in the hunt.  Brandeis became competitive in 2004-05.  CMU won the conference in 2006.  This past season, they would have been in the title hunt in about half the D3 conferences in the country.  Emory and CWRU would have been good teams in most conferences. 

For next season, Wash U will probably be favored.  Nate Hainje is a big loss for the defending champions but Chicago has a good core to build around - Jake Pancratz and Matt Corning.  Given what he has done the past two seasons, I think Mike McGrath is the best coach in the UAA.  Chicago tied with Wash U for the conference title in 2007 and won it outright this past year.  No one expected either of those outcomes.  I said I thought Chicago might go 8-6 in conference and was told I was drinking the Kool Aid.

Steve DeLuca will be back for Brandeis.  Rochester is always good.  NYU plays such a wimpy non-conference schedule that they are impossible to judge. 

[martin]

Chicago has announced seven incoming freshmen for 2008-9.  A nice mix of frontcourt and backcourt talent.

Chase Davis (Mobile, Ala./ Murphy) 6-3 Guard
Playing for Head Coach Tim Waller, the 6'3" Davis averaged 16 points per game and led the team in assists in helping lead Murphy High School to the Area II 6A championship this past season. Davis was a three-time all-county selection and a 2008 6A Division Alabama All-Star. He was Murphy High School's most accurate three-point and free throw shooter as a senior.

Alex Doyle (Lutz, Fla./ Tampa Catholic) 6-8 C/F
Playing for Head Coach Don Dziagwa , the 6'8" Doyle averaged 13 points, eight rebounds, and three blocked shots per game for Tampa Catholic High School this past season. Doyle was named honorable mention All-Hillsborough County by the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times and was selected as an Academic All-Star by the Tampa Bay Basketball Coaches Association.

Matt Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./ Pioneer) 6-3 Guard
Playing for Head Coach Rex Stanczak, the 6'3" Johnson averaged 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game for Pioneer High School this past season. He was also the team's top three-point shooter for the third time in as many years.
The Ann Arbor News Player of the Year and a Detroit Free Press All-State second team selection, Johnson helped lead the Pioneers to a 20-0 regular season record and a #2 ranking in the final Associated Press poll.

Tommy Sotos (Elk Grove Village, Ill./ Conant) 6-3 Guard
The 6'3" Sotos is currently the leading scorer (13.0) for Head Coach Tom McCormack's Conant High School team, which is off to a 12-4 start this season. A three-year letter winner and 2007-08 team captain, Sotos earned academic all-area accolades last season.

Michael Sustarsic (Liberty, Ind./ Union County) 6-0 Guard
Playing for Head Coach Mark Detweiler, the 6'0" Sustarsic is the all-time leading scorer for Union County High School. In addition to his standing as Union County's career scoring leader, Sustarsic also holds school records for most points and three-pointers in a game, and most free throws in a season. He is averaging 19 points per contest this year and has tallied more than 40 points on two occasions.

Steve Stefanou (Cincinnati, Ohio/ St. Xavier) 6-7 Forward
Tom Williams (Cincinnati, Ohio./ St. Xavier) 6-7 Forward
Both 6'7", Stefanou and Williams are in their senior years for Head Coach Scott Martin's St. Xavier High School team, which has won 13 of its first 14 games this season. Stefanou currently leads St. Xavier in blocked shots and is the club's third-leading rebounder. Williams ranks second on the team in rebounding and assists. The 2006-07 Ohio Division I state runner-up, St. Xavier has posted a 54-12 record during the past three campaigns.


Davis, Johnson and Sustaric like to shoot the three - something about Chicago's style of play may have attracted them.  I wonder how the new 3 point line will affect them?

A few news stories:
Matt Johnson
Alex Doyle 1
Alex Doyle 2
Mentions that he was at the Wash/UC end of season championship game.  A high school rival, Jake Seymour of Tampa Jesuit, is going to Wash.

[Wydown Blvd.]

Given that WashU has dominated conference play since the conception of the UAA, how do you see McGrath as the better coach than Edwards? (not saying that your right or wrong, but how does just the past two seasons prove anything?)

[Wydown Blvd.]

Congrats to WashU Men's Tennis for winning the Championship! What a great UAA story, WashU v. Emory for the title (and I believe previously WashU had never beaten Emory in tennis but I could be wrong).

This year has been great for WashU athletics, a team championship every season this athletics year. Looks like this year WashU has its best shot to take home the Director's Cup.

[John Gleich]

Given that WashU has dominated conference play since the conception of the UAA, how do you see McGrath as the better coach than Edwards? (not saying that your right or wrong, but how does just the past two seasons prove anything?)

I don't want to make the argument for anyone, and I don't have a stake in the discussion either way but that statement could be made if he did more with less, (though both programs have certainly had top notch players which could negate the argument).

[Wydown Blvd.]

...Given what he has done the past two seasons, I think Mike McGrath is the best coach in the UAA.  Chicago tied with Wash U for the conference title in 2007 and won it outright this past year.  No one expected either of those outcomes....

The statement as a whole just didn't make sense to me considering in those same past two seasons while WashU has finished second (2008) and tied for first (2007) in conference, as we all know, they have won a national title and finished third. So, "given what he has done the past two seasons," I think Edwards is the best coach in the UAA.

as a side note, in this context, I would consider the recruitment of top notched players a part of comparing these (or any) UAA coaches because both UChicago and WashU are similar schools.

[Titan Q]

I've heard that Sean Kane (Brown U.) is considering transfering to Wash U...

http://brownbears.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/kane_sean00.html


He'd be a very good D3 player.  He was a highly regarded high school player in the Chicago area last year.

Something to keep an eye on.

[sac]

.

Matt Johnson (Ann Arbor, Mich./ Pioneer) 6-3 Guard
Playing for Head Coach Rex Stanczak, the 6'3" Johnson averaged 11 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game for Pioneer High School this past season. He was also the team's top three-point shooter for the third time in as many years.
The Ann Arbor News Player of the Year and a Detroit Free Press All-State second team selection, Johnson helped lead the Pioneers to a 20-0 regular season record and a #2 ranking in the final Associated Press poll.




Davis, Johnson and Sustaric like to shoot the three - something about Chicago's style of play may have attracted them.  I wonder how the new 3 point line will affect them?

In Johnson's case.....not at all.  I saw him play in the Michigan Class A state semi-finals in 2007, and as a Junior almost all of his shots came from well behind the arc.

[ILive4This]

So lets get the predictions rolling based on returning players (starters especially)

My question regarding Brandeis is how do you have Hollins and De Luca in the same line up. They both originally played the 4 and I can not see one of them coming off the bench, so who moves position and do they move to 5 or 3?

[Marty Peretz]

Titan Q, how solid is your source on the Brown kid? I'm yet to hear anything on him, but have been out of the loop since commencement.

As for next year, NYU will be much improved, Rochester will be in a definitive rebuilding year, Chicago will again be solid, I believe Carnegie is losing a lot, Case might grab a couple league wins, Emory should be decent, but Brandeis and Wash.U. will again be the cream of the crop. I see those two teams battling for the title with U of C and NYU finishing in a relatively distant 3rd and 4th, respectively. Both Deis and Wash.U. lose their leading scorers from the 07-08 campaign, but return almost everyone else. If this kid from Brown really comes to Wash.U., that does a lot to offset the loss of O'Boyle. Assuming De Luca and Wallis come back healthy, I have a hard time believing anyone else can compete at the level of the Judges and Bears. People will talk about the loss of Ruths and they'll no doubt be right in pointing out WU's lack of a big man, but the 4 returning starters plus Wallis, a great recruiting class, a solid bench, and a possible D1 transfer have a great shot at getting back to Salem, if not repeating once there. Look for a real possibility of two UAA teams in Salem next year.

[Gregory Sager]

I think that you're seriously underestimating Chicago, Marty. Yes, the Maroons lose Nate Hainje, but they bring back both Matt Corning and Jake Pancratz -- and Adam Machones looks poised for a breakout 2008-09 campaign, based upon the way that he ended last season. If Mike McGrath can get more consistent play out of his big men next season, the Maroons have a puncher's chance to defend their UAA title.