MBB: State University of New York Athletic Conference

Started by bamm, March 12, 2005, 09:24:24 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

jdex

Unbearable and Pdam crew:
Quite the season for you guys. It all starts with classy S. Dobbs. We heard nothing but good things when he came aboard. No doubt he gets the best from his charges, and they go to the wall for him!
And speaking of class .....a rousing hip hip hooray for Bears' top lieutenant Stan Cohen. A Cortland native by the way who goes back to the J. Welsh heyday. Stan's in his 31st year at Potsdam after piloting Canton Tech

owen jones

OK, I'm picking Potsdam over U of R by 73. I'm sticking with my logic!!

Oh wait, the game's over? Whew! Someone could have made some money from me! I see your point and it's a good one.

I know the old "x beat y, and y beat z, thus, x must beat y" logic isn't very good logic.

bamm

Finally back to my PC after a great long weekend of college and highschool hoops.  I didn't stay on Saturday for the Potsdam/UR game, but the result officially proves that I know nothing about basketball.  I couldn't have been more wrong in my predictions for that bracket.

Congrats to Potsdam on a nice run.  Am I correctly assuming that UR played zone and forced Potsdam to hit jumpers?  I remember Friday night game thinking "wow, if they shoot like this for the next 3 games no one is going to beat them."  Did Clayton, Barton, and Lynne go cold?

I agree somewhat with whoever made the post that was critical of Amherst's facilities.  It is a decent small gym.  Bigger than Fisher's but nothing to call home about.

bamm

Back to the Fisher/Potsdam game.  Earlier in the year myself, "Bulb", and a few others kept saying that in order to beat Fisher you must get physical with them.  Bulb even went as far as to say O'Brien and Sydney were soft.  Well, he was right.  Both very good players, but wow did Potsdam manhandle them.  No one was smart enough to be that physical with them in the E8, and that's why they ran the table.

zola

To everyone playing SUNYAC ball this past year, thank you. Night in and night out you represented your schools with courage and dignity and provided your fans with intense, competitive basketball. The seniors will be particularly missed. To Joe Zera,  we'll remember you're leadership bringing along a very young team, first to respectability, and then to a team no one wanted to play by year's end. To Dave Ponza, we'll remember you as the personification of the "go to guy" on the floor and a gracious young man off. To Junior Clayton, we enjoyed seeing you score many of those 1K plus points. To Chris Turner, your career 900+ points and 500+ rebounds are only suggestive of what you meant to a team that won 2 regular season and 2 tournament championships.  

To the returning juniors, looking forward to seeing you next year. To the underclassmen, you have models to emulate and guide your development as both athletes and students.  

And to any scholastic players looking for collegiate opportunities, SUNYAC can provide you with outstanding academic experiences and the highest caliber D3 hoops played in the state.  

State School?  

Proud of it!

Bigdaddy

Potsdam had a great season and as I predicted early in the season made the Elite eight.  

Christian Turner had a great season and was a defensive nightmare for all who played him. Eldon Harris was a tremendous presence on the floor and vastly improved from his underclassment days. He had tons to be proud of. Jim Connely has a great year and showed tremendous leadership. Edane Barton is a monster when he is inspired and played great ball and was a an animal on the boards. Michael Brooks was intelligent and had great hands. Ryan Lynn was an amazing defender and distributor all year. Ernst Ducena is a great defender and impressive shooter. Evril Clayton is a pure scorer that no one wants to guard.  

Potsdam has a lot to be proud of and was truly dominant in many ways. Sherry Dobbs has brought great basketball back to Jerry Welsh gym and it will be interesting to see his recruited class for next season...lets hope he has found some more forwards.  

My belief is that Ernst, Edane, Ryan Lynn, Dave Bisessi, will all be back next year. Jerry Farrior I am assuming will be a starting forward/center next season.  

Anyway....congrats to a brilliant team from Potsdam.  

Potsdam was strong all season and answered big questions asked of them concerning the strength of the SUNYAC and how they would do against a tested opponent.  

In my opinion...Rochester has a great club...but Potsdam is just as good.  

This game in many ways...was decided by the officiating. Potsdam also missed some key shots. They put forth great effort however.

Texas Mike

Great job Potsdam from deep in the heart of Texas! The coach was great but he couldn't do it without all the hard work and heart displayed by the players. I couldn't make the games but listening online made them sound like a group of Division I-quality players in the game against an outstanding St. John Fisher squad. Great job guys.

d-mac

And then there were FOUR... or really eight!
This weekend... the best of the best are crowded
But before then... we tell you who we think are the best... on "http://www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville">Hoopsville"!!!


Eight teams in the nation can see where the road finishes. But who is going to get past the final two exits?

Millikin took out Calvin in a hard fought battle... to earn their way to the Women's Final Four. So is this Illinois team ready to go? Coach Lori Kerans will let us know. Her #6 ranked Big Blue Ladies are the lowest ranked team remaining, but still battle tested and ready for their semi-final game with Southern Maine.

The #1 ranked Scranton Lady Royals sure had a tough road to drive as they took on last year's championship finalist, Bowdoin College in the Elite Eight. Scranton showed why they are the #1 team in the nation, knocking off the Polar Bears. So do the Lady Royals have anything left in the tank for Randolph-Macon in the semi-finals? Coach Mike Strong answer that question and if that #1 ranking adds any pressure.

On the men's side, Rochester is still marching... even though mid-way through the season, most thought they had no chance. But their star player returned... and they knocked off not only last year's Final Four finalist Amherst in the Sweet 16... but then took out a suddenly hot SUNY-Potsdam team in the Elite Eight. Now, Rochester has been here before, and Coach Mike Neer has the experience. But how does his team prepare for a tough Final Four match-up with Calvin.

Calvin - people warned us about. They are the only team left in this men's tournament that has played every game to get here. First Wheaton, then Aurora, finally Mississippi College fell to the side of the Knights. Then came MIAA conference foe - and champion Albion. Which Calvin disposed of 60-52... to take their drive to Salem... for the first time since they won the national title in 2000.
So, what will Coach Kevin Vande Streek use from that last title run to help his team get past Rochester and into the title game? We will ask him that and much more (including if he saw Albion's buzzer beater Friday night? Jared did!).

And then there is York College (PA)... 11-15 last year... flew under many radars most of the year... and now they are in the first Final Four in the school's history.
Coach Jeff Gamber has traveled to Salem before, but never with a team playing. Now, after 28 years... he in Salem as a participant. But, this trip is completely new to Coach Gamber and the Spartans, who until this year had never won a NCAA Tournament game. We will talk to the coach of York and see if he has yet to come down from the high of beating Kings on Saturday to lock up the trip to Salem.

So come join us online and LIVE from 8-10PM Eastern!

xoverj

Well, posting up is done for another year.  Thank you to those who posted regularly and kept the board full of entertaining discussions.  THanks to everyone who kept scores updated during games when some of us couldn't be at them.  All the SUNY's are out, so I am signing off until October.  Everyone have a good off-season.

Bigdaddy

Its a tough note that only one guy from Potsdam made the region team...

Pat Coleman

Yeah -- I don't know if that's a factor of six SUNYAC SIDs not bothering to cast a ballot, or the balance of the Potsdam team. Probably a little of both.

bamm

Ah, now the All-Region team makeup is making a little more sense.  Not that any of the guys didn't deserve it, but 5 Empire 8 guys versus 2 SUNYAC players was a bit unbalanced.

This is pure speculation, but the Empire 8 Commissioner (Mitrano) is a young guy who might be more inclined to push the E8 SIDs to participate in online activities like D3hoops.com.  I don't know anything about the SUNYAC administration, but that might be the problem.

The Bear

The SUNYAC commish is nice guy, long-time retired AD, located in Fredonia, at one of the outposts of the system.  He has a staff of one, a rotating intern who is the publicist.

BAMM - you've hit the nail on the head.  SUNYAC is loaded with good solid players, not just Potsdam, but 15-20 legit D-III stars.  If the SID's don't bother to vote, they won't get recognized.

Bigdaddy

A lot of great seniors that will be gone from Potsdam...does anyone know if Edane Barton will be back for another season?

And does anyone know what kind of recruits are coming into Potsdam in the fall?

zola

Christian Tuner, SUNY Potsdam, has ben awarded a NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship. 28 male winter sports athletes, DI - DIII combined, have been honored with these $7500 scholarships. He is one of only 3 mens basketball players nationwide receiving the award. Selection criteria included outstanding contributions to their team, institution, and collegiate athletics in general.  

Turner, a Potsdam captain for the past two seasons, led the Bears to consecutive SUNYAC championships and to the Elite 8 in this year's tournament. He graduated summa cum laude this month with majors in biology and biochemistry and will attend medical school at SUNY Upstate this fall.

This is a well deserved tribute to an outstanding student-athlete and a reflection of the level of achievement that is possible within the SUNY system that every SUNYAC coach can point to.