NE Region General Questions

Started by d3bballinboston, April 24, 2006, 10:12:50 AM

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All-around

I agree. MIT is a good/solid team. Teams like Salem State who I believe will not finish with a horrible record..but is obviously not as good as previous years teams and do play a very tough early season schedule and Emerson who has been a good/tough opponent over the years (but has been missing their pre-season All-American Shannon) do not have good records early but will most likely finish off stronger.

This problem however is always the case in D3. A team can be top 25 the previous year and can loose players, or have injuries to cause them to not be the same the following year.

MIT should be very good for years to come, Kates and Hollingsworth should be studs. It will be interesting to see how they handle teams with quicker guards because that is their one weakness.

pjunito

Western Connecticut is a very solid team. They can flat out score. They have a little guiard who is the best guard in Connecticut and maybe top 5 in the region. He can create his own shot and can light it up. They can play big or small and will be very hard to beat in the little east.

Rankings don't mean much this time of year (unless the program is up and coming). League play has just begun, I want to see rankings and how teams are playing in late January/ early February.

tball

See response to remsleep's defense comment on NEWMAC board.

Facts say MIT's defense is pretty good.

remsleep

Hugenerd:  take a breath.....everything is going to be OK for MIT.     I specifically chose to insert my "intuitive" opinion of where MIT is on the D3 food chain right now.    Although I am not an MIT grad I recognize that basing opinions on intuition is not an equal alternative to rankings based on real-life data analysis....I was simply stating my intuition.....sorry you seemed to be so excited about that.

Additionally, I enjoyed your analysis  of combined opponents' records, etc......TBall  (I think it was) also did a good job on that as well.......truth be told I already knew that stuff before it was posted....anyone who follows D3 basketball closely would do that routinely I would think....especially if they are looking for ways to make publicly defensible arguments for relative strengths, weaknesses etc of various teams

My current observations about MIT and the possible challenges they face are based not on intuition but on familiarity with most of the players they will be facing from here on......those who attack MIT off the bounce will be successful because MIT's individual defenders ( not Kates) are slow afoot.

Finally, I also strongly believe that as long as MIT's offensive weapons continue to function.....and their team offense has really come on in the past several games....they will be a force....

I also expect that MIT will show up in the Top 25 this week.   



Hugenerd

Quote from: remsleep on December 14, 2009, 11:19:14 PM
Hugenerd:  take a breath.....everything is going to be OK for MIT.     I specifically chose to insert my "intuitive" opinion of where MIT is on the D3 food chain right now.    Although I am not an MIT grad I recognize that basing opinions on intuition is not an equal alternative to rankings based on real-life data analysis....I was simply stating my intuition.....sorry you seemed to be so excited about that.

Additionally, I enjoyed your analysis  of combined opponents' records, etc......TBall  (I think it was) also did a good job on that as well.......truth be told I already knew that stuff before it was posted....anyone who follows D3 basketball closely would do that routinely I would think....especially if they are looking for ways to make publicly defensible arguments for relative strengths, weaknesses etc of various teams

My current observations about MIT and the possible challenges they face are based not on intuition but on familiarity with most of the players they will be facing from here on......those who attack MIT off the bounce will be successful because MIT's individual defenders ( not Kates) are slow afoot.

Finally, I also strongly believe that as long as MIT's offensive weapons continue to function.....and their team offense has really come on in the past several games....they will be a force....

I also expect that MIT will show up in the Top 25 this week.  

I wasnt "excited", I just disagreed with you.  MIT isnt all that bad off the dribble, either.  They have several good on the ball defenders, including Kates (as you mentioned), Jimmy Burke, and Billy Bender.  When you couple that with a big and deep back line, they can give teams problems, especially because they will be bigger than most teams they play.  Obviously, very offensively talented, quick wing players can give them problems, but I dont think anymore than most other teams.  Coach Anderson has been playing Bender and Burke over MITs starters for significant minutes presumably due to this very reason.  MIT finally has some depth and different pieces than they have had in previous years, I trust that the coaching staff can make the appropriate adjustments and put the right players in the game to give them the best chance to win.  That does not mean that I think they will win every game, but I think they will continue to be successful.

CrateDigger

After years of watching these boards, remsleep brought me to life after making an erroneous post which hugenerd and tball already thoughtfully refuted.

I'll only add that while MIT's deficincies are apparent (most notably the fact that the Engineers have relied almost entirely on freshmen and sophomores to carry the load), you'll have to figure that whatever they lack in speed and athleticism, they will be able to offset with disciplined defense and a major size advantage over most of the teams they will see this season. While MIT's schedule is by no means daunting, they have held 9 of its 11 opponents to their lowest offensive output on the year. The only times they didn't were overtime games against a perennially tough Salem State team and a Gordon team that won 20 games last season and returned all its best players. This team will certainly endure some tough games, but MIT has never had such a strong foundation of young talent and the future is incredibly bright (keep in mind that the league's top three-point shooter last year, Jamie Karraker, has yet to begin his sophomore season because of injury).

The other point I wanted to comment on is MIT's apparently weak schedule. Considering that the Engineers were going into battle this year with virtually no college game experience, the coaching staff couldn't have forecasted an 11-0 start or a 3-8 start. No one expected Mitchell Kates to demonstrate such a command of the point guard position so early, and Hollingsworth never saw the floor at Brown. Their strong play as well as the solid support by the rest of the incoming class and the growth of the sophomores has created an unexpected buzz on campus.  

That said, don't expect MIT's scheduling philosphy to change in the future. The last three seasons, the Massey Ratings have indicated that the NEWMAC has the highest parity among any conference in the nation, guaranteeing at least 12 tough games. In addition, scheduling games like Salem, RPI, and Gordon gives MIT plenty of non-conference opportunities to get prepared for the part of the slate that matters most. With MIT's demanding academic workload and plenty of competition in the area, Coach Anderson has no desire to take these guys on the road for long trips, especially in a nuetral setting. Remsleep mentioned Lopata, well within the last few years MIT has been asked to participate, but when MIT proposed a home and home, Wash U lost interest. I'm sure Williams would love MIT to trek three hours across state on a Tuesday night, but do you think they'd reciprocate? Besides look at Springfield. Maybe the toughest early schedule in the country. How's that working out for them? No, coaches schedule this way intentionally (not just at MIT, look at some of the top DI teams and their schedules), because the idea is to get your team ready to be playing its best basketball by Febrauary, not ruin your postseason chances in December.

tball

Cost will continue to be an issue for MIT scheduling.  Remember they dropped 8 varsity sports this year and it would be hard to justify traveling in the preseason when they can look across the river at 30 teams to play.  Their travel budget is reserved for conference play.

Hugenerd

#187
According to the national top 25, here is how the northeast looks, same format as last week:

1. Middlebury (7 in the top 25, 404 points, +45 points)
2. Williams (12, 280, +160)
3. Amherst (13, 268, +83)
4. Brandeis (16, 207, +26)
5. UMD (20 , 164, -178)
6. MIT (22, 132, +46)
7. Elms (31, 27, -60)
8. WPI (33, 20, +8)
9. Western Connecticut (39, 7, +7)

Biggest gainer was Williams, at +6.5 spots per poll on average, Amherst also gained more than 3 spots per poll on average, and both MIT and Middlebury gained about 2 spots per poll on average.  Big losers were UMD, at -7 spots per poll, and Elms at -2.5 spots per poll.

Congrats to MIT for being ranked in the top 25 for the first time ever.

leelowlang

Feel like a dunce...how do you bump up someone's karma?

ECSUalum

#189
Have to have a certain threshold number of posts, cant remember, maybe 50.  The when you hit this number you will start to see "applaud" and "smite" under posters name, (under Karma total), at left.  Clicking applaud provides +1K, smite, -1K

LLL, you need to keep posting sir.

Hugenerd

Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 02:54:37 PM
Have to have a certain threshold number of posts, cant remember, maybe 50.  The when you hit this number you will start to see "applaud" and "smite" under posters name, (under Karma total), at left.  Clicking applaud provides +1K, smite, -1K

LLL, you need to keep posting sir.

You will start getting that option when you get to 200 posts.

ECSUalum

Quote from: hugenerd on December 27, 2009, 03:19:15 PM
Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 02:54:37 PM
Have to have a certain threshold number of posts, cant remember, maybe 50.  The when you hit this number you will start to see "applaud" and "smite" under posters name, (under Karma total), at left.  Clicking applaud provides +1K, smite, -1K

LLL, you need to keep posting sir.

You will start getting that option when you get to 200 posts.

Boy, I was way off!!! :-[

Ralph Turner

Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 05:02:20 PM
Quote from: hugenerd on December 27, 2009, 03:19:15 PM
Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 02:54:37 PM
Have to have a certain threshold number of posts, cant remember, maybe 50.  The when you hit this number you will start to see "applaud" and "smite" under posters name, (under Karma total), at left.  Clicking applaud provides +1K, smite, -1K

LLL, you need to keep posting sir.

You will start getting that option when you get to 200 posts.

Boy, I was way off!!! :-[

Kinda reminds us of Nuke LaLoosh...   ;)   :)

ECSUalum

Quote from: Ralph Turner on December 27, 2009, 05:28:51 PM
Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 05:02:20 PM
Quote from: hugenerd on December 27, 2009, 03:19:15 PM
Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 02:54:37 PM
Have to have a certain threshold number of posts, cant remember, maybe 50.  The when you hit this number you will start to see "applaud" and "smite" under posters name, (under Karma total), at left.  Clicking applaud provides +1K, smite, -1K

LLL, you need to keep posting sir.

You will start getting that option when you get to 200 posts.

Boy, I was way off!!! :-[

Kinda reminds us of Nuke LaLoosh...   ;)   :)
Ralph,

Is there a place to go for new posters to get accurate info?? :D :D

Ralph Turner

Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 06:06:48 PM
Quote from: Ralph Turner on December 27, 2009, 05:28:51 PM
Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 05:02:20 PM
Quote from: hugenerd on December 27, 2009, 03:19:15 PM
Quote from: ECSUalum on December 27, 2009, 02:54:37 PM
Have to have a certain threshold number of posts, cant remember, maybe 50.  The when you hit this number you will start to see "applaud" and "smite" under posters name, (under Karma total), at left.  Clicking applaud provides +1K, smite, -1K

LLL, you need to keep posting sir.

You will start getting that option when you get to 200 posts.

Boy, I was way off!!! :-[

Kinda reminds us of Nuke LaLoosh...   ;)   :)
Ralph,

Is there a place to go for new posters to get accurate info?? :D :D
I think that the terms of service have most of that, but I don't think I have ever seen that info on Karma posted.   :)