Oh dear, I haven't logged in or posted on D3 Hoops in over 2 years, probably.

Hello to everyone. I look forward to catching the action this season and to be a part of it all here on the site.

Ramapo is a huge dissapointment this year at 12-10 overall and 6-4 in the NJAC. The biggest difference that I see is the lack of point production from previous years.

I noted that in a post back in November. While RCNJ is ranked #39 in scoring offense, the numbers are significantly down from years past, such as 2003-04 when they averaged 85 a game.

In 2002-03, they averaged 87.8 in NJAC play.

2004-05.... 86 a game

2005-06..... 82

2006-07..... 77, 76 in conference play

This year? In second place but putting up only 73 a game.

Congrats to Ahmad Hassan who garners Rookie of the Week honors for his stellar play for the Roadrunners.

Against Salisbury, kid shot 8-10 from the field (2-2 from 3) for 22 pts.

Good to see Ramapo run off wins against NYC Tech, Salisbury and Rutgers Camden, scoring 91, 91 and 87 points in those victories.

To me, the point production is really what was lacking from the 2 games I went to - against John Jay and Scranton.

I vividly remember the teams of years past when Ramapo would lead the NJAC with about 85 points per contest. They would run the opponents out of the gym.

And in the two losses that I witnessed, the offense did not click - scoring 75 one game and 67 in the other. Good to see Ramapo playing better offensively. I am optimistic this will continue.

Phil,

I just don't see how a GPS system will help prevent a murder, rape, etc. How would this work? The article says that there is "student activated emergency GPS tracking." Would there be a button one can press to summon help?

Or does a phone call have to be made and then the campus police would be able to track the caller's location using the GPS? 

I just don't see how this can prevent a crime, unless one is able to physically get away from an attacker and make the call to public safety. In that case, it would still take several moments for officers to respond. I guess this is like a portable "blue light" system for students to carry. However, I doubt the effectiveness of it and I question the privacy implications of having students tracked via GPS.

"What it does is allow students to have an extra pair or group of people watching over them when they're going from one location to another," Montclair Police Department Chief Paul Cell said.




And how old are these people we are talking about? 18-22 years old? This is an absurd invasion of privacy. These are adults, preparing for the "real world".

What is this big brother watching over you nonsense... And to make it mandatory where the students have to pay to have a nanny follow them around? Just absurd but maybe I'm out in left field on this.

Ramapo suffered their second consecutive loss at the hands of Scranton on Saturday evening. The final was 70-67.

For the second straight game, Ramapo did not start the game looking like the team that was picked to finish first in the North Division. The team looked lethargic. I think they missed about 3 layups and shots that should have went down. The team shot 40% from the field and 2/9 from 3 Point range in the first stanza. The teams went into the half with Scranton up 33-30.

In the second half, Ramapo's play drastically improved. In the first part of the second half, Scranton outplayed the hosts, running up a double digit lead at one point. However, with about 10 minutes left, Ramapo really began to play with energy and effort. I was really proud at the way they battled back from this deficit to take a one point lead 64-63 with about 2 minutes left.

They didn't give up, but rather played excellent stifling defense to create turnovers and claw their way back into the game.

However, what confused me was Ramapo's unwillingness to foul Scranton as time was running out. Scranton got the ball off of a turnover with about 30 seconds left. Ramapo let the clock run down to 17 seconds before fouling. At this stage, with the shot-clock off and a one point deficit, the only option is to foul the player if a steal cannot be made.

The Scranton player that was fouled on 3 different occasions got the job done for his team, sinking 5/6 free throws. His only miss ensured that Ramapo had the final chance to tie the game, but with 0 timeouts remaining, the last second heave from 3/4 of the court fell way short.

Interesting to note:

Ramapo shot 56% from the field in the second half, but only 40% in the first. For the second game, the play in the first half has been rather lethargic and boring. A basketball game consists of two twenty minute halves, not 10 minutes in the second half.

Tim Wesley had 20 pts for Ramapo, mostly from layups and easy baskets. Omar took over in the second half, finishing with 14 for the game and dominating on the blocks. He was calling for the ball and with his ability and size, the defender's are hard pressed to find an answer for him.

The attendance was much better today, in terms of filling up the gym, but........ The Bill was filled mostly with Scranton fans who made the trip. I would say it was about a 50-50 split with Scranton/Ramapo fans and I was surrounded by these folks.

Nice to see Rob Anderson and John Wojcik at the game. Rob was really animated, urging the team on. I still remember that time he broke the backboard in the Midnight Madness when he was a player.

Anyway, Ramapo's next challenge will be on Tuesday against NYC Tech.

Quote from: Pat Coleman on November 21, 2007, 06:31:20 PM
Truck -- does attendance get better later in the season? Around here the traffic is pretty light in November and December, too.

Sadly no, Pat. For regular season games, they will get around 200 or 250 souls in The Bill. Once in a while, perhaps against WPU or NJCU, they might get 500 as announced attendance.

The most I have ever seen is during the playoffs, particularly the 04-05 run, the first year they opened The Bill. They would pack it to capacity with 1300-1400 students. In the old gym, they would also get a full house during the playoffs, particularly during the 02-03 year where I vividly remember the crazy atmosphere during that double OT Montclair State game and the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

The attendance in last season's playoffs (meaning the NCAA run in March 2007), while still a lot more than during the playoffs, was far from a sellout.

The students obviously care, they have that Ramapo Rowdies program which sends out e-mails to students (although I haven't gotten any this year) and provided fan buses during the NJAC playoffs. I went to a game on the road against WPU last season and so many Ramapo students showed up for this regular season match-up cheering on the visitors.

So during the regular season, the attendance is pretty bad overall, here at The Bill and in years past at the old facility. The cheerleaders used to give away rally towels after every Roadrunner 3 pt. shot. This didn't seem to entice any students to come to games though. Perhaps they could try free food or something 

Maybe they could place me in charge of sports marketing? haha

I'll still be showing up, regardless, just to see the product on the court. Such a successful program should be enough to get rowdy youngsters to games. What else is there to do in Mahwah anyway?

Rhodes,

Did you see that Ramapo game in person?

Folks, one of our former Ramapo players, Amin Wright, is playing professionally in Germany for a team called "USC Freiburg".

He is leading the team in steals and assists and is, with these numbers, leading the entire league in steals. This defensive effort is nothing new, as Amin finished the 2004-05 season ranked #2 in D3 Hoops in steals and was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the NJAC for 2 consecutive years (04-05 and 03-04).

The link for the team for those interested is:

http://www.usc-freiburg-baskets.de/


It's in German, but hopefully you can take a look at the pictures and see that Amin is having fun doing what he does best on the professional level. We all wish him the best over there.

Alles Gute Amin!

Sloppy and lackluster game at The Bill on Tuesday night.

Ramapo lost to John Jay, 80-75 in front of an announced crowd of 100. It really makes me sad that RCNJ has an awesome facility, a great men's basketball team with an outstanding coach, and nobody shows up.

Anyway, if the team continues to play like they did today, they won't be winning over many fans.

Ramapo started out very slow. Frankly, it was a pathetic start. 4 points in 5 minutes to begin the game. Pathetic first half really. RCNJ was down at 11 at one point. Plenty of turnovers, 25 for the game.

JJ was up 35-30 at the half.

Ramapo came out with energy and passion to start the second half. Completely different attitude from the team to begin the second.

However, this lasted until perhaps the 12 minute mark. Then, the pace began to slow down. RCNJ did not maintain the momentum that they came out in the second half. It was a fairly boring game, not the typical RCNJ fast-paced basketball I am accustomed to.

While the teams in years past would make a living of knocking down 3s, taking at least 10 each half. Yesterday, RCNJ hit 1/8 in the first half and 3/8 in the second.

And free throws..... oh boy. No doubt Chuck will work the guys in practice on this. 44% from the line for the game is not going to win ballgames. It was ridiculous to say the least. Desmond Sanders missing two key FT with 2 minutes left and down 5 pts. is just one example of missed opportunities.

Next up is Scranton, a better quality opponent than JJ. If RCNJ plans on playing the same way as they did today, they are going to be in for a long night. Sleepwalking through the first half is not the way to win ballgames.

Ramapo wins their tip-off tournament, defeating Yeshiva by 13 and St. Joe's Patchogue by 14, 88-74. Tim Wesley dropped 29 in the first game and Omar paced the 'Runners with 18 in the championship match.

I will be in attendance on Tuesday, 7:30 vs. John Jay

Congrats to Omar Alston and Dana John, representing the NJAC in the First All-Atlantic Region Team.

Well, what a surprise in Mahwah last night...

Stevens jumped out to a 31-24 lead by the half. Obviously, this is highly out of character for Ramapo to put up 24 points in 20 minutes. The team shot a mere 8 for 26 from the field at the half. Free throw shooting was 44% for the entire game.

Ramapo played better in the second half, but Stevens improved as well, winning the second half 38-37, and thereby the game and advancing to the Sweet 16. The final was 69-61.

Omar led the way with 19 and 11, and Beanie was the second leading scorer with 10 points. Everybody else scored in single digits.

Ramapo was able to get the game close at various points in time (mainly the second half), but they would never be able to overrtake Stevens. Every time they would get close, Stevens would make a key basket to extend the lead, finally getting it to 10 with about 4 min left.

All in all, Ramapo had a great season, advancing to the championship game for the third straight year, and winning the second NJAC Championship in three years. The success of previous years cannot be forgotten, as even though Ramapo hadn't won the NJAC before 2004-05, they would always either come away with the ECAC Championship or advance deep into the NCAAs, like in 02-03 after their Double OT loss to Montclair State in the NJAC Championship game. This is clearly a top notch basketball team every single year with an exceptional coach and a great group of talent.

Congratulations to Chuck on this year. RCNJ wasn't picked to finish first - and they did. The leadership starts at the top with the head coach and Chuck has proven himself to be a winner and a great coach. We'll be back next year....

Ramapo had a 20 pt lead at halftime, shooting 53% from the field..


The second half saw York outscore RC 40-29 and RC shot 32%.

Ramapo was still able to hold on and win 77-68 to face Steven's tonight...

Quote from: njachoopsfan on February 26, 2007, 09:33:04 PM

Quote from: Truck on February 26, 2007, 03:38:43 PM
Here are the brackets for those who missed them:

http://www.d3hoops.com/salem/07/mbbbracket07.pdf

Ramapo should dispose of York (NY) pretty easily. It is probable that WPI will be the next opponent at The Bill. That will be a tough battle to say the least. The road does not get easier with Amherst the likely finalist from the above matchup. So Ramapo has a really tough road just to get the the Sweet 16 where my money will be on a RCNJ vs. Amherst battle.

Truck Lets not put the cart before the horse.    When we hosted the "Sweet 16"  acouple of years ago, we lost the first game and had to watch someone else cut down the nets in our building.   We need to take this one game at a time.  I DO NOT want to see that again.  I hope the guys that were on that team remember that vision and use it as a motivator.

I know we beat them by 19 last time, but remember we struggled getting into the NJAC playoffs...   I hope the guys can take the momentum from the NJAC's into this.   The only team I want to see cutting down the nets better be wearing Maroon and White...

Well said. I remember that game against King's College where we were favored to win and face York (PA). Unfortunately, the end result was one which Ramapo fans were not hoping to see. Only Pryor, Frost and Woj remain from that team. 

Everything in the NCAAs is possible but I was only predicting and projecting what might happen - the same as we might do with the Pick 'Em, where I have picked RCNJ to win it all. Call it a belief in my team, I suppose.

The team has had a great year (putting that game on the 17th aside) and a great NJAC tournament. They have the momentum to keep it going hopefully.

I think we both hope to see Ramapo not only cut down the nets at The Bill but more importantly, at the Salem Civic Center.