Kind of buried in a little corner of the internet a couple weeks ago but looks like the SUNYAC will go to divisional play after this season.

"They are still worried about time wasting in the last few minutes of a game."

stlawus reaction: re-institute overtime

SLU's QB question is answered with the return of Will Lederman for another season of eligibility.  Played RB last year with Lawther being healthy but once again will take over the reigns under center.  Team also retained Ethan Metro who went into the portal last spring off a good 4.5 sack/10.5 TFL freshman campaign. Metro had D2 offers, so nice to see that SLU is retaining players.  No doubt the added stability with the $1.5 million gift to the program last winter played a role.

I guess I'll start things with the season about to get underway.   I guess I just don't know.  Vassar probably picked to finish 1st, they bring back the league's best player and still have most of their midfielders.  Have to replace a few defenders, but Vassar's strength was never their defense, they just impose their will offensively.

SLU is eh, I don't really know either.  Back line should be solid and will have lots of size, no one below 6'2" across all 4, but there are a lot of ifs with the midfield. Ogango back healthy will give them a definite boost there.  Couldn't keep their top scorer from transferring so they're going to need goals from Campbell. Not sure how much they'll get out of their freshmen group, 1 or 2 players look like they'll get extended minutes, but at the moment there isn't anyone like a Tobolski that I foresee jumping onto the scene right away.   SLU has started out very poorly the last couple seasons, so if that happens again Cortland could put them in a big hole right off the bat. 

After that, I really don't know about the rest of the league.  Hobart I suppose could make noise, they had a nice run the 2nd half of the year.  Ithaca had a coaching change, Union lost another one of their best players to the NESCAC and RPI has been in dire straights.  Would like to see Clarkson finally get over the hump and into the playoffs with the return of Carter Lincoln. Clarkson is the sleeping giant of the Liberty League across several sports.  If they had any semblance of an effort to upgrade facilities besides Cheel they could easily be one of the top Liberty League athletic departments. 

Quote from: Jersey42 on August 25, 2025, 11:50:22 AMRPI announced their four recruits last week.  Two were previously reported by stlawus.

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team, led by 11th year head coach Mark Gilbride, will welcome four freshmen to campus this fall. Noah Daniel, Kellen Driscoll, Zach Hart and Payne Wood all recently signed Division III Celebratory Forms in honor of their intentions to attend RPI and join the men's basketball program.

It is a talented and well-balanced class," said Coach Gilbride. "Most importantly, these are young men of high character who will make Rensselaer proud. We are excited to welcome this tremendous group of student-athletes to our basketball program."

Daniel is a 6'2 guard from Portsmouth, NH.  While at Berwick Academy he was a three-time All-NEPSAC Class C selection. As a senior Daniel averaged 26 points, six rebounds and six assists per game on his way to being named Eastern Independent League Player of the Year.

Driscoll comes to Rensselaer from Glens Falls High School in Glens Falls, NY. The 6' 3" guard led Glens Falls to back-to-back undefeated seasons in his junior and senior year. He was named Tournament MVP twice during his two Class A state championship campaigns and was named Foothills Council League MVP in both of those years as well. As a senior Driscoll scored 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists, and was awarded New York State Class A Player of the Year.

Hart is a 6'7 forward from Poughkeepsie, NY. Hart led our Lady of Lourdes High School to back-to-back New York State Class AA Section 9 Championships. Hart was named Mid-Hudson Athletic League Player of the Year and Section 9 AA Player of the Year in both his junior and senior seasons. As a senior Hart averaged 23 points and ten rebounds on his way to being named Poughkeepsie Journal Player of the Year.

A 6'3 guard, Wood comes to Rensselaer by way of Spartanburg Day School in Spartanburg, SC where he earned South Carolina Independent School League All-Region II honors three times. As a senior Wood averaged 17 points and five assists per game. Wood was honored as an SCISL All-State selection and a High School Sports Report All-State selection in his senior season. 

https://rpiathletics.com/news/2025/8/21/four-sign-celebratory-form-for-mens-basketball-class-of-2029.aspx

Not sure how much playing time they'll get this year, but Driscoll is a hooper.  I watched him the last few years at the NYS final four and thought to myself that I hoped SLU would get him.  By all accounts they were on his recruiting trail but RPI got him.  He'll have a nice career.

Been able to piece together SLU's schedule for the upcoming season from other sources as the official one isn't out yet.  Looks like the Saints are staying in NY for non-conference. The usual Plattsburgh and Oswego, and another season of Geneseo and Poly.  Appears that SLU will be participating in the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout in Rochester the weekend before Thanksgiving, with a matchup against St. John Fisher that Saturday and what I assume will be Nazareth on Friday since SLU isn't on UR's schedule.  More like Cross-state Shootout, heh. I've been wanting SLU to play Fisher and Naz, even if their records aren't gaudy (which they usually are) those teams usually put high quality basketball on the floor.  There's technically one more game SLU can play but they've stuck to 6 non-con games for several years now.

I would expect SLU to have a good season even with their graduation losses, some very high quality players coming in this class as well as a lot of scoring back.  But as I've mentioned before the Liberty League is highly unpredictable these days, past performance has not yielded future results.

I have no doubt the coaching connection played a major role, but I'm still pretty shocked SLU was able to land a player like J'Lin Brown.  By any measure that is a recruiting coup.  Loomis's coach Rock Battistoni was a 2 year player for Downs before transferring to George Washington and still lauds Downs for his role in developing him into the caliber of player that was able to contribute to a team that won the A10. I have to imagine that relationship was a critical selling point. He was recruited in his own right out of West Genny before his post grad year at Loomis but that was also partly how SLU got Dudzinski to transfer. In any case, this SLU team should be a lot more athletic and capable offensively. They've had nationally elite defensive stats the last couple years, but at a great cost on the offensive side of the ball.  I'd be more than happy to sacrifice a little defense for better scoring and spacing.

Quote from: UfanBill on August 14, 2025, 09:40:31 AMWe're on the cusp of football season and I'm really a football guy but something popped up to catch my attention that I wanted to share.

Union College basketball has announced it's new class of recruits and it includes one very intriguing member. The Garnet Chargers return their entire roster from last season and now they'll have something they were lacking. A true big man. 6'11" Scott Schmitt has transferred to Union from Middlebury College where he played in 15 games last season for the Panthers. Schmitt is out of New Jersey and played at IMG Academy in Florida where he got some top notch coaching and competition. And at 250 lbs.he's not some skinny rail that will easily get pushed around. It will be interesting to see how coach Chris Murphy uses him but he's got to help right?

Here's the rest of Union's recruiting class...All these guys can shoot the rock!

Jack Watson.........6'4" SG from Milton Academy, Mass
Patrick Cullinan...6'2" SG from Canisius prep in Buffalo
Cade Furse.........6'2" CG from Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire
Trace Moffitt  ....6'5" SG from Greensboro Day School, NC

Aside to stlawus...Trey Rezendes who you listed as a basketball recruit to Union back in May is actually on campus as a football recruit.

A lack of center has hurt Union at times, but they're a good enough offensive team that it hasn't been a net negative for them.  This certainly shouldn't hurt, anyone over 6'8" in the LL let alone d3 is a rare commodity and if he was good enough to be recruited by a NESCAC I think it's safe to say he'll make a positive impact. A lot of times these players are multi year projects but I wouldn't bet on that being the case here.

As far as I can tell Charlie Randall still hasn't found a place to play, at least publicly.  Figured he'd have been courted by someone by now.

Quote from: Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan) on August 12, 2025, 11:51:48 AM

Quote from: stlawus on August 12, 2025, 01:17:16 AMWhy is SLU and Clarkson playing a league game in the middle of November for the 2nd year in a row?? League games, let alone rivalry games, getting played in November should be against the law.

LL doesn't play midweek conference games.  There are only so many weekends available.  Although that is the travel partner game, right?  So presumably the schools have some flexibility about when to schedule those?

Yes they do.  Travel partners/teams close to each other have always played mid week. Last year was the first year these teams played a regular season game on a weekend and in November.   

Why is SLU and Clarkson playing a league game in the middle of November for the 2nd year in a row?? League games, let alone rivalry games, getting played in November should be against the law.

Really nice write up on RIT's incoming class.  Wish more programs would do this.  https://ritathletics.com/news/2025/7/23/mens-basketball-announces-incoming-class.aspx

One player they got is from Perkiomen which has mainly been a Skidmore pipeline.  Don't know if they even recruited him but something interesting nonetheless. Very strange to see Skidmore so down the past several seasons.

I'm not going to make any predictions, at least not yet, in terms of how the upcoming season will fare.  In a post covid Liberty League world it has been a fairly unpredictable league.  Very little linear progression/regression.  Teams you thought would be better due to returners haven't been consistent and teams you thought would struggle have done pretty well. 

Someone made a post going into last year about who they though would be players to watch in terms of taking a big leap, and there are a few that immediately come to mind for me. One of them is Jaylon O'Neal from Ithaca.  He had a good season last year, but from the few Salt City ProAm games I've caught he looks poised for a great season.  Ithaca's going to need someone to step up next year and he should be it.  He looks like he's bulked up a bit more, and he's already a lock down defender with explosive athleticism.  A player to keep an eye on for sure.

His Salt City ProAm teammate Dan Anderson from SLU is another.  At least I hope!  He had a very good season last year after having not even played competitive basketball for 2 years while playing lacrosse at Denver.  2nd on the team in scoring and team's best shooter, and now with a full season and summer circuit under his belt will hopefully be a very steady force at point guard next year on both ends of the court. Just a pure athlete, he joined SLU's lacrosse team halfway through the season after basketball ended and helped turn the season around resulting in a sweet 16 appearance. 

There are plenty more, but the third that immediately comes to mind is Monty Nedd from Hobart.  Had a very nice first year campaign and would not shock me if he's at least the 2nd leading scorer for the Statesmen next year.  Has good size for his position and already a solid frame, Hobart will need him next year to fill some big graduating shoes.

Quote from: y_jack_lok on July 21, 2025, 10:10:34 PMFree throw percentages: Boeheim 16-33/69.6%; D3 12-14/85.7%

Syracuse lost a national championship because of missed free throws, and it's been the hallmark of the program ever since with how poor they shoot. Very fitting.  I was conflicted since I'm a Cuse fan and like to see the D3 guys win.  But seeing the actual team's associate head coach get dog walked by Rejniak pretty much sums up this current era of Cuse basketball.     Also, fellow d3 folks on social media, you don't have to run down d1 players to lift d3 players up.  I've seen too much of that in recent years especially from the d3 media types.

Quote from: SierraFD3soccer on July 19, 2025, 05:03:27 PMLot of really, really good points on Flo. I agree with all of it. I really think colleges are cutting off their noses to spite there faces.

Maybe a bad example, having grown up in the NY area, I was a big Howard Stern fan.  Once he went satellite in 2006 or so, I never listened to him again. So people who starts to like soccer and maybe have a connection to D3 will never discover/watch D3 soccer. In other words, people who never heard Stern, will never find him after 2006. That could be one of the biggest impact.

I actually thought about referencing Stern in my post lol.  I thought his first contract at sirius was some of his best years, but it was when he went to 3 days a week is when it really cratered.  Someone said "these reduced hours have led to some reduced listening", and that's basically how it's going to be with FLoSports now.

Quote from: mhm0417 on July 19, 2025, 04:28:59 PM

Quote from: stlawus on July 19, 2025, 12:16:41 PM

Quote from: mhm0417 on July 19, 2025, 09:45:20 AMWe just hosted Oswego State coach Jason Leone for a practice with our high school boys.  He showed them a little bit of what a college practice is like and talked to them about what he looks for in a player. (Team first, work ethic, positive attitude) He put them through drills and took time to show them why they were doing the drills.  Really good stuff. The boys had a blast !

A great basketball mind that can effortlessly connect with people. Very easy to see how he's built that program at Oswego.

His Cut Down the Nets satellite camp like this has definitely netted him some of his best players over the years.  It was a wise investment of time and resources when he first got the job.  His on court persona is way different than his off the court one though lol.  Very intense, and at some times seems over the top but he's one of those coaches that still gets the respect of his players when he's heated which is a pretty positive showcase of his coaching philosophy. 

I need to watch him this season!  When the kids were on breaks we were picking his brain about what he looks for - definitely wants 4 year high school guys that buy in to "we" before "me".
He told the boys at the start of the practice that when he's interviewing a recruit and the kid asks "are you going to keep recruiting for my spot?" he knows that's a young man that's not a fit even though he understands and respects the question.
What I really liked was he gives all the returning players drills and areas to work on in the summer and then checks that in the fall to see who did the work that was assigned, so they never get complacent.

I've heard him say in interviews that he prefers 4 year high school players.  He's got a few transfers post covid but they haven't really worked out.  He's basically picked up the Tom Curle mantle in terms of the SUNYAC team getting the best recruits.  But yea, during the game it's a whole different coaching style lol.  I've seen the folks at the scoring table look over at him like he's deranged, but the players seem to be fine with it.

Quote from: mhm0417 on July 19, 2025, 09:45:20 AMWe just hosted Oswego State coach Jason Leone for a practice with our high school boys.  He showed them a little bit of what a college practice is like and talked to them about what he looks for in a player. (Team first, work ethic, positive attitude) He put them through drills and took time to show them why they were doing the drills.  Really good stuff. The boys had a blast !

A great basketball mind that can effortlessly connect with people. Very easy to see how he's built that program at Oswego.

His Cut Down the Nets satellite camp like this has definitely netted him some of his best players over the years.  It was a wise investment of time and resources when he first got the job.  His on court persona is way different than his off the court one though lol.  Very intense, and at some times seems over the top but he's one of those coaches that still gets the respect of his players when he's heated which is a pretty positive showcase of his coaching philosophy.