PSAC WEST

[IUPalum]

Again, lowest scholarship total in the west.

But you said if they are healthy they can compete with anyone. They were healthy in 2019 but got blasted regularly!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Again, lowest scholarship total in the west.

The West seems to fluctuate pretty well from year to year. From what I see, this appears to be a pretty strong year.

IUP and Mercyhurst start at the top. Both are deep and return a ton.

California - Starting Five is solid. Bench will be almost all freshmen. If they stay healthy ... should be pretty good. Depth is the major question.

Gannon - Jefferson has assembled some nice talent. Solid PG and SG. Added a big from Towson. His teams play hard.

UPJ - First team post Josh Wise. Many return including the two big guys. Nice guards. Always play smart with few mistakes. Never flashy but fundamentally sound.

Edinboro - Should be Cleary's best team in several years. Keyes and Moore are athletic bigs -- rare for Cleary. Guard from SRU will help Simpson.

Slippery Rock - No idea what to expect here. Lashon Lindsey should lead the way. Added some interesting transfers. We'll see how they mesh.

Clarion - Two studs -- Gerald Jarmon and Lawrence Lemon -- could play for any team in the league. The supporting cast will tell the tale. If they have some help, Clarion will be a tough out.

Seton Hill - The two 7-footers are older now. If they've developed they will be better. Guard play is a big question.



Favorite: I'd go with IUP. Mercyhurst returns a lot but took some key losses via transfer. Gary rebuilds quick so I suspect it will come down to these two. Joe's team is going to be problematic to defend. If you key too much on Armoni, Shawndale and Morris can do serious damage. The inside game is strong with Demo, Porterfield, Sulaiman and Diop.

[Fightingscot82]

But you said if they are healthy they can compete with anyone. They were healthy in 2019 but got blasted regularly!

Never said with anyone - a team that loses every game by 2 is still a 0 win team but you can argue they're competitive. Its been a while since Edinboro had both size & skill. Edinboro's best teams in the last 20 years had both.

[Fightingscot82]

The West seems to fluctuate pretty well from year to year. From what I see, this appears to be a pretty strong year.

IUP and Mercyhurst start at the top. Both are deep and return a ton.

California - Starting Five is solid. Bench will be almost all freshmen. If they stay healthy ... should be pretty good. Depth is the major question.

Gannon - Jefferson has assembled some nice talent. Solid PG and SG. Added a big from Towson. His teams play hard.

UPJ - First team post Josh Wise. Many return including the two big guys. Nice guards. Always play smart with few mistakes. Never flashy but fundamentally sound.

Edinboro - Should be Cleary's best team in several years. Keyes and Moore are athletic bigs -- rare for Cleary. Guard from SRU will help Simpson.

Slippery Rock - No idea what to expect here. Lashon Lindsey should lead the way. Added some interesting transfers. We'll see how they mesh.

Clarion - Two studs -- Gerald Jarmon and Lawrence Lemon -- could play for any team in the league. The supporting cast will tell the tale. If they have some help, Clarion will be a tough out.

Seton Hill - The two 7-footers are older now. If they've developed they will be better. Guard play is a big question.



Favorite: I'd go with IUP. Mercyhurst returns a lot but took some key losses via transfer. Gary rebuilds quick so I suspect it will come down to these two. Joe's team is going to be problematic to defend. If you key too much on Armoni, Shawndale and Morris can do serious damage. The inside game is strong with Demo, Porterfield, Sulaiman and Diop.

I don't know if Cal will finish #3 but they could be anywhere but the bottom - but if their roster starts falling apart it could be a rough year. Sancomb is making a lot of money to be drawing 600 if they're not winning.

[Fightingscot82]

Preseason Coaches Poll Results:

1. Indiana
2. Mercyhurst
3. Pitt-Johnstown
4. California
5. Gannon
6. Slippery Rock
7. Clarion
8. Edinboro
9. Seton Hill

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Preseason Coaches Poll Results:

1. Indiana
2. Mercyhurst
3. Pitt-Johnstown
4. California
5. Gannon
6. Slippery Rock
7. Clarion
8. Edinboro
9. Seton Hill

Did they show the votes?

[Fightingscot82]

Did they show the votes?

IUP with 7 and UPJ with 2.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

IUP with 7 and UPJ with 2.

Wow. Didn't see that coming.

[jrshooter]

UPJ has a nice backcourt, to be sure. I still can't help but be stunned that Central Dauphin's Ryan Smith and Berlin-Brothersvalley's Elijah Sechler are both being redshirted.

Those are two guys who, in my eyes, presented borderline mid-major talent. Smith was the floor leader of a state-level CD team; Sechler carried BBV on his back into the state finals.

UPJ's future is bright.

[CALUPA69]

UPJ's future is bright.

Curious that you mention UPJ. The future, in this day and age, is this year. Before the portal was even a thing, '11-12, '12-13, UPJ had an outstanding PG who led the team in minutes and ppg as a FR and SO. Then for no reason I've heard decided to switch, a rare thing at that time. Went to another PSAC West program and two years later was the MVP of the Elite Eight. Kaitlyn Fratz made that move, still rare for WBB, and never looked back.
Every time I hear or read about a player changing the direction or raising the level of a program, I remember KF and how the Mountain Cats had a gem and couldn't hold on to it.
More recently the constant ebb and flow of really nice talent from Danny Sancomb's roster tells me this sport is forever changed and, in my mind, not for the better.

[Ship69]

Curious that you mention UPJ. The future, in this day and age, is this year. Before the portal was even a thing, '11-12, '12-13, UPJ had an outstanding PG who led the team in minutes and ppg as a FR and SO. Then for no reason I've heard decided to switch, a rare thing at that time. Went to another PSAC West program and two years later was the MVP of the Elite Eight. Kaitlyn Fratz made that move, still rare for WBB, and never looked back.
Every time I hear or read about a player changing the direction or raising the level of a program, I remember KF and how the Mountain Cats had a gem and couldn't hold on to it.
More recently the constant ebb and flow of really nice talent from Danny Sancomb's roster tells me this sport is forever changed and, in my mind, not for the better.

The better teams largely benefit from the transfer rules, but I think it will make rebuilds at schools with middling or bad records, never an easy job, all that much harder. Would Coach Fite have been able to retain his players after his initial two losing seasons at Ship if today's rules had been in effect? Food for thought.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Curious that you mention UPJ. The future, in this day and age, is this year. Before the portal was even a thing, '11-12, '12-13, UPJ had an outstanding PG who led the team in minutes and ppg as a FR and SO. Then for no reason I've heard decided to switch, a rare thing at that time. Went to another PSAC West program and two years later was the MVP of the Elite Eight. Kaitlyn Fratz made that move, still rare for WBB, and never looked back.
Every time I hear or read about a player changing the direction or raising the level of a program, I remember KF and how the Mountain Cats had a gem and couldn't hold on to it.
More recently the constant ebb and flow of really nice talent from Danny Sancomb's roster tells me this sport is forever changed and, in my mind, not for the better.

UPJ is a bit different, too. Coach Rukavina doesn't play in the transfer game. He's made a living off of program guys -- many he finds at small schools who tend to get overlooked. His player retention rate is very high. He tends to do it old school. Most all redshirt and then play four years. His teams are never flashy but always have great skill.

I think it's why he competes so well year after year.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Pitt 89
Gannon 64

Knights were down just 9 points at halftime. Played pretty well. Pitt pulled away in the second half.

[jrshooter]

UPJ is a bit different, too. Coach Rukavina doesn't play in the transfer game. He's made a living off of program guys -- many he finds at small schools who tend to get overlooked. His player retention rate is very high. He tends to do it old school. Most all redshirt and then play four years. His teams are never flashy but always have great skill.

I think it's why he competes so well year after year.

That's a very good reason why he might be redshirting the talented young guards.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Some Men's Atlantic Region D2 vs D1 exhibition scores from the past couple weeks (I'm sure I missed a couple):

Marquette 98
Bowie State 40

Illinois 94
IUP 79

Bowling Green 91
Fairmont State 89

Iowa 99
Slippery Rock 47

VCU 74
Virginia State 55

Pitt 89
Gannon 64

Old Dominican 96
Gannon 56

Rider 78
Kutztown 76