MBB: Liberty League

[stlawus]

Basketball season is quickly approaching. Union College is scheduled to play it's opener against Plattsburgh St. on November 11th at home. Other highlights of the Garnet schedule include an appearance in the NYU Tip Off Classic where they'll face Elite 8 participant Tufts and the host Violets and a trip to Las Vegas where they'll face Worcester St and powerful Rhodes College.  https://unionathletics.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

Union will return 4 of 5 starters with the biggest news being that Liberty League Player of the Year Jack Plesser will be back after initial concerns he'd be leaving when he declared for the transfer portal in March. Other than graduated senior Christian Dufort the other two members of Union's "big 4" return. PG Tanner Tedesco and clutch g Mathew Garside. PF Brendan Reid is back after missing all of last season to injury. On a down note 6'11" Scott Schmitt, who showed promise last year, will not return. Let's Go U

I guess it was worth just seeing what kind of interest he could get, but it never made much sense for Plesser to transfer.  Only a year of eligibility so that would be wonky in terms of credits and he doesn't shoot threes so his power forward profile doesn't translate much to the next level.  If he was 3 inches taller he'd be a really great d1 player.

[stlawus]

Noticed that former Union guard Mike Manley will be on the bench at Union as an assistant this year. Very good player for the Garnet, should be a good addition to their coaching staff.

[stlawus]

Various roster notes I've observed so far:

RIT's second leading scorer from last year Muhsin Muhammad transferred to Neumann. Neumann was in the NCAA tournament last year.

Clarkson's center position solidified with the addition of graduate student transfer Aidan Maguire from Plattsburgh.

Bard's second leading scorer from last year Angelos Bratakos has transferred up to Siena.

[NYHoopsGuru]

LL-

One extra thing to note with regards to roster changes-- Bard's Max Frei, who suffered a serious injury in their one point OT loss vs SLU (who knows what would've happened if he stayed healthy), is also no longer with the team. I can't imagine Bard could get much worse than they were last year, but without Bratakos and Frei they might find a way.

Another point I wanted to bring up is how impressed I am with some of the improvements in these LL non-conference schedules, most notably Vassar. Their schedule is highlighted by a neutral site matchup against Randolph Macon, the team with the highest winning percentage in all of D3 over the past five seasons. Other key matchups include Denison, potentially U of Rochester, Stevens, Cortland, and the back leg of a home and home with Williams. Although this matchup has been historically one-sided in favor of the Ephs, a rising Vassar and declining Williams may change that story. Additionally, Vassar just added a D1 exhibition against Bryant in early December, the same week they play up north Ithaca and Hobart. Could be a tough week for the Brewers, but it's clear that the coaching staff is prioritizing the possibility of an at large if things go well.

As for the rest of the league, opponents include Tufts, Johns Hopkins, Endicott, NYU, WashU, Mount Union, Trinity TX/WPI, and others. With a strong senior class across the league, this could finally be the year the LL returns to multiple bids.

- Guru

[stlawus]

With a strong senior class across the league, this could finally be the year the LL returns to multiple bids.

Maybe.  Hasn't been the case post covid.  Coaching is too good these days and everyone adjusts. There have been senior classes that came off strong seasons that significantly underperformed in the past 5 years. A lot harder playing with a target on your back compared to how it used to be.