College Sports Madness has Marcus 1st team and Tyler 4th team in their preseason all-MAAC teams. Just like Lindy's, they've selected Cameron Jones of St. Peter's as the Freshman/Newcomer of the Year in the MAAC instead of Curtis Cobb. Sporting News has Rider's 6'9" Lacey James as their MAAC newcomer for this season
CSM also has their preseason Ivy, NEC, and MEAC teams on their site. Among our OOC opponents, Columbia has three players on the 4 all-Ivy teams (guard Maodo Lo 1st team, F Alex Rosenberg 3rd team, G Grant Mullins 4th team). Dartmouth has guard Miles Wright 3rd team and forward Connor Boehm 4th team. Yale's forward Justin Sears is 1st team and also is CSM's Ivy League preseason player of the year.
In the NEC, SHU's Cane Broom is 1st team and forward Tevin Falzon is 3rd team. Wagner's F/C Mike Aaman is on the NEC's preseason 3rd team.
UMES G/F Devin Martin is 1st team preseason all-MEAC and teammate F/C Dominique Elliot is a 4th team preseason all-MEAC selection.
I just realized that I went to a game last year where Cameron Jones played in. He was not highly regarded, but had a very good game and looks like he can really shoot. He had only 1 visit his junior year to Bucknell and then no other school approached him for the next 12 month. Certainly a sleeper ..... In addition to St Peters, he was also receiving Division I interest from Rider, Delaware State and Fairleigh Dickinson last summer.
Nice to see that Tyler Nelson got 4th team All MAAC. He is only deserving of that all MAAC honor, if he can expand his game to play like a complete guard. His improvement last year shows that he certainly is capable of that
Surprisingly, lots of guards and very few inside players. MAAC teams will be quicker than ever. Of the top 20 players
- 12 are true guards - 6 are wings (3G/SF) - And only 2 inside players Long and Whelton
The 2014-15 season in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference produced two repeat performances: Iona won its second straight MAAC regular season title, but once again they fell to rival Manhattan in the MAAC tournament title game. The two programs, separated by about ten miles, have been the class of the MAAC recently and, given the returnees in New Rochelle and Riverdale, it would surprise no one if the Gaels and Jaspers once again fought it out for the title.....
Teams such as Marist (guard Khalid Hart) and Fairfield (forward Marcus Gilbert) have individual talents whose names will be on the end of season all-conference team lists come March, which should make for an entertaining (and challenging) 20-game slate for each MAAC team.
In each of the last three seasons the same two rivals have faced off with a trip to the NCAA tournament on the line. And while Iona and Manhattan will be expected to extend that streak to four, there’s no doubt that others are capable of claiming the MAAC title as their own....
I expect to be a top 5 team in the MAAC this year and contend in the tourney. We have the personnel. We have experienced coaches. No more excuses. Syd is getting a 2nd chance. He has a lot to prove. I am cheering hard for the team, but that is my view.
My realistic expectation is .500 and win a PIG. That's a big jump from the last two years. We are still weak at the point and our best recruit is in a log jam with our two best players at the 2/3. Kirkland projects to be solid. Everything else is unknown.
Post by nashvillestag on Oct 15, 2015 8:39:55 GMT -5
Same points I have been making for awhile now. If (big if) the new guards are as good as advertised, if between Segura and a combo of the other guards we get decent PG performance, and finally if injuries or (other reasons) don't decimate the squad in the backcourt, then I do think there is room for some real improvement. Maybe a push for the top 5. Even with all the above coming true, the fact that the backcourt consists of 2 sophomores and 2 freshmen might hurt a little. On the other hand I feel we are solid with the bigs with decent talent (and great depth). And Marcus is a big-time scorer who could really help the cause if he could expand his game just a bit in other areas such as ball handling, passing and rebounding, etc. But to be honest I have to side with Ghost here. Until proven otherwise, a basic .500 season would seem to be realistic at this point.
After what the fans have been subjected to, Stagz, that expectation is more than fair. MAAC top 5 or big changes are needed. If it really goes South, we may need change before the season finishes.
Sometimes a great person is just wrong for a particular job.
Stagsz, Ur expectations are reasonable. A top five finish gets us out of the PIG round, which is a must. However, with the relatively "green" guards we have on this team I am not sure it is achievable. I think we need to be patient during the first 1/2 of the season as our "green" guards gain experience. However, if the stags are going to achieve top five by season end,the team needs to be very productive during second half of the season. If not, sayonara to Syd "" Johnson.
I think Syd has done a solid job recruiting and shuffling the coaching staff. Change needed to happen due to underperformance.
I give him credit there and I think it is deserved.
I truly think with these changes top 5 is more than reasonable. That is my expectation. But, almost more importantly is direction, ie finishing strong. If top 5 escapes us, but we finish strong that will have to be weighed.
However, if we are .500 or less, enough is enough. I believe in 2nd chances, but come on.
In addition to being Top 5 in the MAAC, getting to at least the Semi's in the MAAC Tourney is something that should be in the expectations and team goals. They go hand in hand.
The team has to show a lot of improvement over this year so that it will be easy to expect that we can make the jump to 20+ wins and seriously compete for MAAC champions in 2017 and 2018. In other words, our current 4 guards (Tyler, Cobb, Segura and JJ) have to be ones that can take us to the top. We can't rely on 2017 and 2018 recruits to be the saviors.
Our Frontcourt has a lot of depth, and is talented as any other MAAC school, but don't know if any of them are All-MAAC. I would like to see 1 or 2 of them become stars. Which one can, I don't know, But Degnan certainly has the Tools, Talent and Size. He reminds me of Debisschop who needed until the middle of his junior year to become a player. I would like to see Degnan become a player this year.
Last Edit: Oct 16, 2015 16:28:17 GMT -5 by JoeStag
In addition to being Top 5 in the MAAC, getting to at least the Semi's in the MAAC Tourney is something that should be in the expectations and team goals. They go hand in hand.
The team has to show a lot of improvement over this year so that it will be easy to expect that we can make the jump to 20+ wins and seriously compete for MAAC champions in 2017 and 2018. In other words, our current 4 guards (Tyler, Cobb, Segura and JJ) have to be ones that can take us to the top. We can rely on 2017 and 2018 recruits to the saviors.
Our Frontcourt has a lot of depth, and is talented as any other MAAC school, but don't know if any of them are All-MAAC. I would like to see 1 or 2 of them become stars. Which one can, I don't know, But Degnan certainly has the Tools, Talent and Size. He reminds me of Debisschop who needed until the middle of his junior year to become a player. I would like to see Degnan become a player this year.
You're right JS, our current guards have to be the leaders in taking us to the top. BTW, in that vein, didn't you mean that we CAN'T rely on the 17-18 recruits to be the saviors (meaning the current guards are by this time next year well on their way to being dominant players)? And as far as the frontcourt, I have always (as documented) praised the possibilities of Kevin. However for this current season I think the guy who might really excel is Kirkland. He did show a lot of potential in a few assorted games. Unfortunately in some others he was a non factor. But the fact is he did show enough of what he COULD DO when he was on his game to make me believe a little more concentration in consistency could lead to a big year. In fact given his situation as a former JUCO player, I know I have read statements more than once from coaches in the game stating that quite often there is a big jump in production from these players between their first and second seasons as they get accustomed to D-I college ball. Hopefully this suggests a lot of good things for Mike this year!
Last Edit: Oct 16, 2015 11:55:57 GMT -5 by nashvillestag
