MBB: Skyline Conference

[raptor31]

Didn't see the games but I agree winning that tournament is a huge statement for Purchase. I am not going to hate at all, they won a tournament with 3 programs that have been at a higher status than them in college basketball and coming out and kicking off the season with a couple wins is huge for a new group of players together.

Obviously valid points about the status of Hartwick and New Paltz and no this doesn't mean Purchase will be in the top 5 in the Skyline but it is intriguing. I am excited to see their guys play up at Bard next week, hopefully it will be another great Bard-Purchase matchup (had a bunch of those in my 4 yrs). I wish Purchase all the best and everyone has to remember, Bard, Purchase and Polytech were all in a non-bid league called the HVMAC as recently as 4 seasons ago. It has been a tough transition for all 3 and I am happy to see any former HVMAC teams succeed (especially my boys at St. Joe's BK who I am excited to see in the D3).

As for the Bard losses, I talked with a bunch of the guys and it was just a tough weekend. It has been a rough start to the season with their 2 bigs getting injured in week 1 of practice, then James Martin goes down in the D'Youville game, followed by Chris Margella going down early in the Green Mountain game, and you also have to remember role player/knock down shooter Adam Shear is out first semester and coming back in January. With a full roster this Bard team could make some noise but when you take 3  probable starters and the 6th man off a team that is only 7 or 8 deep that is going to hurt. I am proud of the guys and Justin White for holding their heads high this weekend and giving an all out effort (only down 6 to D'Youville with 8 min to play, lost to GM by 2 and White back rimmed a 3 to win).

0-4 start isn't what guys wanted but considering circumstances and the guys attitude of going out and getting better everyday I am happy as Raptor fan. We just need to stay on point and be ready for the return of half the rotation in January. *On a side note Justin White had 29 and 22 in back to back games and is scoring 23+ a game. Having a PG to build around this season and next is a great starting point

[d3hero]

raptor31,

thanks for acknowledging purchase's success.

It's great to see a school that up until very recently, had a team that consisted of one basketball player and several hipsters who "played basketball" actually playing NCAA basketball at a respectful level.

It should be fun to see the Bard/Purchase game.  I really don't think that your team has the firepower to keep up with this year's Panther squad but anything can happen (that's why the games are played).

[raptor31]

You may be right for this first matchup but with a full squad of guys it should be a great game. Bard will need their 4 players that are out back and fully healthy to hang with a lot of teams with more talent. I will let you know what I think of your boys after next week. Purchase actually had a couple nice squads when we played. Had a team with a 6'9 kid Steve Sage that had a great compliment of players. Akatunde Amare was a great guard there, they had a couple other bigs and a nice rotation of role playing guards. That team was far better than the teams the last few years. Polytech has been hit hard the last couple years unfortunately. They also had some solid teams in the HVMAC. Won it my first 2 yrs in the league with a D1 level big man. Kid Bamba could have competed Ivy or Patriot easily.

How is Farmingdale playing this year?

[d3hero]

Farmingdale has a trio of players, just like Purchase, that are very good.

Damien Santana, Erastus Shannon & D1 JUCO transfer, Mike Campbell.  They're going to be good.

The team that people are sleeping on though is St. Joe's.  They've got Acree and Niblock back but they've added a 6'5" NAIA player whose playing out his senior season there...J.J. Walsh.  He was actually just named co-player of the week with Purchase's new star, Mavin Billups.  St. Joe's isn't going to lose that many games.

It should be interesting.  Old Westbury only lost 68-50 to Hofstra last night and they held D2 New York Tech to a 74-71 victory.  Though they lost to Brooklyn, i think they've got a pretty good team.

The difference between Farmingdale & St. Joe's to Purchase, back to my regular statements, is that Purchase's two new D2 transfers are only sophomores while Farmingdale & St. Joe's talent is all senior based. 

I know this is a mixed up, all over the place post but my league standings predictions?

Either Purchase, Farmingdale or St. Joe's at #1, 2 & 3, followed by Old Westbury & Maritime.  The bottom 5 are going to be up in the air.

[raptor31]

I know the players, was just wondering if any Farmingdale people were out there who had seen their games so far. Seeing if anyone had some insight on them? Tough for you to tell me Purchase is going to compete for 1 or 2 that is jumping the gun a little bit. If you tell me they are going to be behind the snr laden squads I might give you that but they will not compete with FSC or SJ because the avg age on St Joes is about 32 and Farmingdale is too battle tested.

If the PC guys are young that looks like a nice future though.

[zonescantstopme]

wow avg age of 32, i know they had some older players but damn thats stretching it.  I think acree is like 26 right now

[d3hero]

St. Joe's is an older team, for sure.  Their NAIA transfer is a real player though and their freshman pg is good too...should be very interesting.

And yes, I am saying that Purchase will compete with them.  And as for the Purchase v. Bard game next week, my prediction?

Purchase 85 - Bard 61

[BklynBasketball]

im assuming that 32 average age thing is a joke...st joes LI seems legit right now though.

Billups thus far has lived up to the  hype the posters are creating on here. Purchase looks like they should make some noise in the conference. It is early yet, but already people are talking about purchase in a way they havent before. Watching Billups get off against some good defenders proved he will be a force in the conference.

Old Westbury has looked impressive thus far against good competition.

Poly has had some rough breaks, theyve been in all of their games, but a young nucleus is usually a recipe for losing those games where youre close but just cant close the gap, or deliver the knockout punch if you in the lead. They have talent though, and they play hard which is a testament to their coach and their heart.

Yeshiva. Yeshiva. 2 and 0 in the conference in a supossed down year. Well coached as always and they have the talent to run their system, and win alot of games. Claster and Liebovich are a dangerous combo and they have an impressive freshman witha good supporting cast.

MSV won their last 2. Their game against St Joes Bklyn was a tough one and proved that SJC Bklyn deserves to play in an ncaa conference. It was a good game which MSV lead wire to wire. The bears cut the lead several times and like i just said, if this team isnt in the Skyline soon I will be surprised. They can definitely compete. MSV also has the rookie of the week in the conference right now.

Bard, from what we have heard on here theyve been struck hard with injuries but with a loss to Yeshiva last night, its obvious theyre having some difficulties. Justin White is one of the better players in the conference but they need to get things clicking and get their roster back to full strength.


Farmingdale. Theyre stacked we all know this. Its going to be tough to knock them off in the skyline this year.

MSM has been getting very good guard play and also features a player of the week in the conference this year. Its never an easy trip to Newburg.

Maritime has only played 2 games thus far but Coach King will have those guys ready to go for conference play and theyre always dangerous. Paul Frazier is a problem on the court for opposing defenses.

[d3hero]

nice summary even though i think you're looking at a lot of positives for every team as opposed to realities.

Polytech is going to lose all but 3 games this season (if they can get 3 wins).  Yeshiva is not good.  They lost their best player (Gordon) and they have replaced him with The fact that they've beat Poly & Bard just shows how weak those two teams are. 

Old Westbury hung with Hofstra for most of that game so that's impressive to me.  Prosper is a big, athletic dude and if he plays well and stays out of foul trouble, will create a mismatch inside for every other team in the conference (and outside of it as well). 

St. Joe's of LI has a good core and two stars in Acree & their new NAIA transfer.  They're legit, as is Farmingdale. 

I don't see what the big deal about MSM is.  They're a .500 team.  MSV, below .500.  Maritime will be decent, 5th place in the conference.

Billups is an excellent player for Purchase, yes, but Lewis is equally talented, as is Orgias. 

[BklynBasketball]

d3hero, have you seen Yeshiva , MSM, or MSV play this year to make such statements?

Yeshiva has a d2 transfer in Leibovich, Claster who is tough as nails and a good freshman. Add those guys with their role players into the Yeshiva system and Yeshiva is dangerous.

MSM has guys who can shoot and get hot, that happens on the right night it could spell trouble for an opponent.

MSV has the rookie of the week, in addition to a nice transfer player from the Liberty League, plus 2 of the better shooters in the conference. Not a bad group on paper if u ask me.

Again,

Farmingdale, Westbury and LI SJC are the top dogs with the targets on their backs.

[Rhodes Scholar]

I saw Farmingdale State beat Baruch in overtime last night. The Bearcats were up by 24 points in the first half, but played poorly down the stretch. Farmingdale was more aggressive and simply wanted it more. This game was also subject to some pretty bad officiating.

Farmingdale has three of the best players in the Skyline conference: Santana, Shannon and Mike Campbell, a transfer from Globe.

[raptor31]

Appreciate the update on some of the teams. Anyone think this has a shot of being a 2 bid league at all? Probably not because no one has a tough enough schedule? Anyone know if Farmingdale could get one if they lost in the tourney?

Nice rundown of some of the teams and what theyre working with. Looking forward to seeing some of the teams play. Tough loss for the Raptors Tues. Still undermanned with Martin out and 2 players out til 2nd semester. Might be a struggle Tues with Purchase, but you just never know...

[CityD3]

MSV won their last 2. Their game against St Joes Bklyn was a tough one and proved that SJC Bklyn deserves to play in an ncaa conference. It was a good game which MSV lead wire to wire. The bears cut the lead several times and like i just said, if this team isnt in the Skyline soon I will be surprised. They can definitely compete. MSV also has the rookie of the week in the conference right now.

St. Joe's-BK does deserve to be in an NCAA conference, but they gotta get a facility. it's pretty crazy that they can get any kind of talent in while playing at a high school gym. That being said, the St. Joes battle of LI vs. BK could get ugly for the bears..that's a tough matchup for them. However, they have nothing to lose and just being competetive with LI could open some eyes. MSV has some good guards, but they are gonna need to find a true big man if they're gonna make any serious noise.

[Cyclone0205]

Raptor -

Possible, but HIGHLY unlikely.  The Skyline will not be getting 2 bids this season.  In Skyline history it only happened once, a couple years ago with Stevens and Manhattanville.  And that was because Stevens was a Top 25 team and the #1 team in the region before being upset at home in the tournament.  Their resume also included 4 wins over teams that had been in the tournament the prior year outside of the conference, as well as a close loss to NYU, which was another Top 25 team.

Manhattanville won the tourney and got the auto bid, and there were questions about if they would have made it in if they didn't get the auto.


That being said, the Skyline this year is worse than the Skyline from that year, so the conference wins won't help as much.  In order for this league to get two bids, the #1 seed in the tourney would have to be something like 20-4 going into conference play, and make at least the conference semifinals.  Even then, it would be tough.  Last Massey Ranking (within past month) I saw had the Skyline as the 6th worst division 3 conference in the country.

[d3hero]

though getting two bids is unlikely, the skyline is stronger this year than it was last year and that's a fact.

Farmingdale lost barely anything and gained a JUCO D1 allstar player - St. Joe's gained a 6'6" NAIA transfer - Old Westbury is very talented and has the best center in the league - Maritime, though losing Webb, has put together a good team with some strong players and Purchase is, in my opinion, the most improved team in college basketball, going from a 3-22 team to a 3-0 start and with good health, is on path for a 20+ win season.

The Skyline isn't a joke.  I didn't mention MSV & MSM but they're not bad teams at all.  Bard & Polytech aren't the best...and we'll see how Yeshiva is (i'm watching them tonight against Purchase...my opinion? 75-52 Purchase wins.)