MBB: NEWMAC

Started by nehoops4life, March 03, 2005, 10:39:13 AM

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boknows

I'd also like to mention that Pat Coleman is doing a great job with this site. 

(hook me up with some Karma! ) 



DO IT!   i'll admit though, clark sucks this year and phillips is still working the refs like textile workers in lowell to try to get charge calls out of the refs where his players clearly flop like manu ginobli.  some things never change. 
swish

smarshall

Looks like WPI will be hosting the newmac tourney again.

Only people I see upseting them would be babson or springfield.  Both being long shots.

any thoughts on the all conference teams?

hugenerd

Jimmy Bartolotta had a pretty good night for MIT last night as they beat Lasell-  27 points, 21 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.

hugenerd

Quote from: smarshall on February 14, 2007, 11:44:53 AM
Looks like WPI will be hosting the newmac tourney again.

Only people I see upseting them would be babson or springfield.  Both being long shots.

any thoughts on the all conference teams?

Here are my guesses:

Coach of the Year: Brennan (Babson)

POY: Cain (WPI) or Bartolotta (MIT) - I think Cain will get it because his team has a better record, but looking at the body of work, I think Bartolotta deserves it more (he outproduces Cain in nearly every category and can put up numbers like 27 pts, 21 rebs, 6 ass, 3 bl, 2 stl).

FOY: Bracht (MIT)

1st team:
Guard: Cain (WPI)
Guard: Zukowski (Wheaton)
Guard/Forward: Etten (Babson)
Forward: Bartolotta (MIT)
Forward/Center: Prebeck (CGA)


2nd:
Guard: Pizzo (SC)
Guard: Sowers (CGA)
Forward: Coleman (WPI)

I think the last two spots are a tossup: Could be Narmindin (Clark), Bracht (MIT), DeGiovanna (Wheaton), Krull (MIT), or Borque (WPI).  I am sure I am missing some candidates but those are my thoughts.

atn alum

One note is that the NEWMAC waits until its tournament is done to vote on its teams. Last year, Ryan Flynn had a great 2-games in the semis and finals, and I remember thinking that he basically played his way onto first-team selection in those 2 games.

Hugenerd, I think your assessments are good. Taking nothing away from Bartolotta's great season in a tough situation (limited # of players), I'd go with Cain because of team success.

I think Zukowski/Coleman is a toss-up for the last spot on first team, and playoff performance could play a role. I've seen every team in the league at least once...Zukowski got shut down pretty much in the 2 games I saw, but he is a good player. Coleman is capable of monster games and is a difference-maker player, but he's also been shut down a few times.

I'm not sure who on Springfield will make 2nd team...you could give it to any one of 3-4 guys...prob would go with one of the other scorers over Pizzo, but you could make a case for him too. The list of other contenders for the last couple spots is a good one. I'm leaning DiGiovanna and Krull but could come up with a different pair tomorrow.

I'd be very surprised if we didn't see a WPI-Babson final, but I've been wrong before.

Good to see some chatter going here.

cheeks14

I think your picks are pretty accurate except I might have a few changes.

POY- definitely close but I think the fact that Ryan Cain is doing it for the 13th ranked team in the country should help his case a lot.  He has some very good talent surrounding him which makes it more impressive that he is putting up the numbers he is.  His shooting percentage is extremely high for a shooting guard and he has shown the abilty to be unselfish and do whatever it takes for the team to win.  Barlotta has had an extremely good year but MIT's offense runs through him on almost every posession.  He gets far more touches and chances than Cain and is required to do more for his team to be competitive.  I also think Cain is the better defensive player as he has completely shut down some very high scoring players this season.  Tony Barros was 2-15 shooting against WPI and he is an explosive scorer and Bartlotta was shut down the first game and the second game he was held in check till very late in the game when the freshman were in for WPI. 


1ST Team
Cain-WPI
Bartlotta-MIT
Prebeck-Coast Guard
Etten-Babson
Coleman-WPI

The top 3 players are obvious picks based on their numbers.  As mentioned Cain and Bartlotta are having amazing years and Prebeck is putting up monster numbers even though its for the last place team in the conference.  Etten I think has to be on the 1st team because he is the best player on the 2nd best team in the conference and he is also having a very good season.  The last spot was tough but I think it has to go to Coleman.  He has potential to have monster games at any time and he is very versatile.  He can shoot the 3-pointer, drive, dunk, play defense on any positition, and is the most athletic player in the conference.  Zukowski is a better long-distance shooter but I think that Coleman is better at almost everything else.

2ND TEAM
Sowers - CGA
Zukowski - Wheaton
Pizzo - Springfield
Bracht - MIT
Bourque - WPI

Sowers and Zukowski are pretty obvious picks as Zukowski almost made the 1st team and Sowers is putting up very strong numbers.  I have only seen 2 Springfield games but from what I saw Pizzo is their best player and is a very good point guard.  He can score if he needs to but also knows how to distribute the ball.  His ball handling skills are very good and he knows how to break down the other teams guards and get to the rim and finish.  After that it gets tough but I was very impressed with the 2 games I saw Bracht play for MIT.  As only a freshman, he is goign to be a very good player.  It is amazing that MIT is doing as well as they are when I feel their only good players are Bartlotta, Bracht, and Krull.  I think Bracht is one of hte best forwards in the conference and deserves a spot on the 2nd team especially considering his field goal percentage.  The last spot was tough to decide but I think that Bourque for WPI is the only true center in the league.  When he comes into the games he completely changes the other teams shots and he also has the ability to score with post moves or mid-range jump shots.  He is putting up pretty good numbers in limited minutes but I think he has to be on the second team because he is the best actual center in the league and can be a force at times.  No one else in the league can match up with him when he is playing well. 

Krull (MIT) and Normandin (Clark) deserve consideration but I don't think they have enough to make it.  Obviously there is still a few games left to play so this could change but at this time these are my picks.

I would also be VERY surprised if it wasn't Babson and WPI in the finals but I think that WPI has too many weopons that can beat you on any given night especially on their home court.  I predict WPI will win out from here but I think that the Babson game will be very competitive. 

Sorry for the long post but I got really bored.  Let the chatter continue!!




hugenerd

#366
First I would like to say that I agree with everyones picks.  There are a few things I disagree with however.

Quote from: cheeks14 on February 14, 2007, 03:44:12 PM

POY- definitely close but I think the fact that Ryan Cain is doing it for the 13th ranked team in the country should help his case a lot.  He has some very good talent surrounding him which makes it more impressive that he is putting up the numbers he is.  His shooting percentage is extremely high for a shooting guard and he has shown the abilty to be unselfish and do whatever it takes for the team to win.  Barlotta has had an extremely good year but MIT's offense runs through him on almost every posession.  He gets far more touches and chances than Cain and is required to do more for his team to be competitive. 

I think he will get it too.  But you have to consider the other side of the ball.  In the games I have seen, Bartolotta gets alot of defensive attention (double and triple teams sometimes) and Cain gets to do work mainly one on one because of the surrounding talent.

Quote from: cheeks14 on February 14, 2007, 03:44:12 PM
I also think Cain is the better defensive player as he has completely shut down some very high scoring players this season. 

I completely disagreee with this statement.  If you are going to go with the head to head matchup, Cain scored 6 points and had 2 rebounds in 38 minutes against MIT last time (and 10 points and 3 rebounds in the first matchup).   Either way, it is hard to compare because WPI is a much better all around team than MIT, but that doesnt mean that MIT does not have the best player.

If you are going to go with the whole season, let us compare the defensive stats (rebounds, steals, and blocks).  Cain averages 4.1 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks. Bartolotta averages 8.3 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks.  They both play the same number of minutes (~36).  So that is over twice as many rebounds, 5 and a half times more blocks, and 30% more steals. 

WPI is definitely a better team and if your definition of player of the year is the best player on the best TEAM, then Cain it is.  It is difficult to compare the two players head to head (both Cain and Bartolotta did not have their best games against eachother). However, if your definition of player of the year is the guy who has meant the most to his team and put up the best numbers overall (offensively and defensively) as an INDIVIDUAL, I do not think that anyone can argue that the overall numbers that Bartolotta has put up are more impressive than Cain's.  He averages more points, more rebounds, more assists, more steals, more blocks, and has a higher FT percentage.  The only areas that Cain is better than Bartolotta are FG% and 3 PT% (and team winning percentage). 

If you consider Player of the Year an INDIVIDUAL award, I dont see how you can argue that Cain is more deserving than Bartolotta.  However, if you consider Player of the Year a TEAM award, then I guess Cain would be your choice.


cheeks14

When MIT played WPI, Cain guarded Bartlotta for almost the entire game until the end when the freshman went in.  Barlotta scored about 8 points in the closing minutes of the game playing in the garbage time.  Cain had an off game and only scored 6 points but it wasn't because Bartlotta was shutting him down because he was guarding Coleman for almost the entire time.  Barlotta definitely has better defensive numbers, but Cain plays very good shut down defense even if he doesn't always get the steals.   He is very good denying the ball and from what I have seen this year is a premier shut down defender.  Bartlotta defintely has had an outstanding season and is a very good player so I am not trying to take anything away from him, but in my opinion Cain should be POY.

hugenerd

The new NCAA Regional Rankings are out:

WPI is 3rd in the Northeast and Babson is 9th.  I think it will take a NEWMAC tournament win for anyone besides WPI to make it into the tourney.

clarkie

My only problem with your selections as yet is that Coast Guard the LAST PLACE team in the conference would have TWO selections...Remember, Clark finished 4th in the conference last year and Tim Dutille a 1,000 point scorer and previous 2nd team and 1st team NEWMAC conference selection didi not get a nod his senior year.

Though clearly my allegiance is with Clark, I think it is important to not forget Mark Alexander as Rookie of the Year. Alexander is the one that has the ball for the final shot (and there have been at least three games this season that this has happened in). He can shoot the NBA three, drive and play strong defense.

Will he or any Clark player make the team, I'd say probably not. But I do think it would be ridiculous to have two players on the all conference team on the last place team in the conference. I didn't think I would ever say this but give WPI another or what about Eigenberg on Babson?

hugenerd

Quote from: clarkie on February 14, 2007, 09:56:28 PM
My only problem with your selections as yet is that Coast Guard the LAST PLACE team in the conference would have TWO selections...Remember, Clark finished 4th in the conference last year and Tim Dutille a 1,000 point scorer and previous 2nd team and 1st team NEWMAC conference selection didi not get a nod his senior year.

Though clearly my allegiance is with Clark, I think it is important to not forget Mark Alexander as Rookie of the Year. Alexander is the one that has the ball for the final shot (and there have been at least three games this season that this has happened in). He can shoot the NBA three, drive and play strong defense.

Will he or any Clark player make the team, I'd say probably not. But I do think it would be ridiculous to have two players on the all conference team on the last place team in the conference. I didn't think I would ever say this but give WPI another or what about Eigenberg on Babson?

Last year Wheaton finished 4th and got 2 players on the all-conference team, Coast Guard finished third and got 3 players on the all-conference team (including Prebeck and Sowers), and MIT finished 2nd and only got 1 player on the all conference team.  There doesnt necessarily have to be a connection between team success and individual awards.  I also feel like coaches dont want to put freshman on the team because Jimmy Bartolotta had better numbers than Mark Alexander is having this year and he did not make it (although he got frosh of the year).  That is why I wouldnt be surprised if Eric Bracht didnt make it this year, even though he is 1st in the conference in FG%, 2nd in rebounding, 6th in blocked shots, and 9th in rebounding.

hugenerd

Quote from: clarkie on February 14, 2007, 09:56:28 PM
Remember, Clark finished 4th in the conference last year and Tim Dutille a 1,000 point scorer and previous 2nd team and 1st team NEWMAC conference selection didi not get a nod his senior year.

Though clearly my allegiance is with Clark....

Your allegiance may be skewing the facts in your mind.  Clark did not finish 4th last year, the finished 6th with a record of 4-8.  To recap last season:

WPI 9-3
MIT 8-4
CGA 7-5
Wheaton 6-6
Springfield 5-7
Clark 4-8
Babson 3-9

clarkie

I apologize...in my old age I was mixing up the past two seasons. Clark finished (and hosted a NEWMAC game; which is what I was remembering) in 2004-2005...that was with Phillips' recruits too. ;) Not that I'm biased or anything.

smarshall

I agree with Clarkie that you could make a case for Eigenberg on Babson.  I think there is a better case for a 2nd player from Babson or Springfield than a 3rd from WPI or MIT.  Springfield's Gibbs and Farley have solid numbers for a team that beat Wheaton twice and at worse will split with Babson, and did with MIT.

boknows

Quote from: smarshall on February 15, 2007, 10:23:12 AM
I agree with Clarkie that you could make a case for Eigenberg on Babson.  I think there is a better case for a 2nd player from Babson or Springfield than a 3rd from WPI or MIT.  Springfield's Gibbs and Farley have solid numbers for a team that beat Wheaton twice and at worse will split with Babson, and did with MIT.

Babson should play brandon eigenburg 35 minutes a game, and cut the playing time of their other point guard because he turns it over too much.   You have keep your best senior on the court as much as possible.  But Brennan is doing a good coaching job this year with the talent he has. 
swish