PSAC WEST

[bballfan03]

Where did Whitley end up?

NAIA Columbia (SC)

[bballfan03]

NAIA Columbia (SC)

Doesn't appear Evran or Yilmaz have ended up anywhere (or else their teams haven't published anything yet).

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Edinboro and SRU posted rosters. Both added some nice D2 transfers.

Jomo Goings ended up staying at SRU (he was in the Portal earlier this year). Edinboro has several new additions from PSAC schools.

[bballfan03]

Edinboro and SRU posted rosters. Both added some nice D2 transfers.

Jomo Goings ended up staying at SRU (he was in the Portal earlier this year). Edinboro has several new additions from PSAC schools.

Cenker Evrans landing spot figured out.. Boro

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Cenker Evrans landing spot figured out.. Boro

Boro has kind of assembled a roster of PSAC imports. They landed some good guards. They do not have much under the basket, however.

[IUPalum]

Boro has kind of assembled a roster of PSAC imports. They landed some good guards. They do not have much under the basket, however.

Looks like Edinboro posted a roster but really no specs. I know some of them, not much to be scared of.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Well, I usually do a mid-summer West ranking and then another version once the rosters are finalized.

I only know one thing for sure entering the '24-'25 men's season in the West ... I don't have a clue.

Opening night is 36 days away. It used to be pretty easy by October to (fairly) accurately predict the division race. It sure isn't now with these rosters flipping yearly. Buy a program. You're going to need it.


(in no order)

Slippery Rock, on paper, is pretty loaded up. Their two stars return along with some nice imports.

It's probably safe to assume Gannon will be strong again. 'As' strong is probably a reach but who knows. This is basically a whole new team.

If healthy, IUP can be good. But, without knowing the status of two key players, it's hard to say. IUP should be much more well-rounded this year. Expect some growing pains.

Cal took some losses but has a lot back. Danny reloads quickly.

Edinboro has a lot of new D2-experienced imports. They lost a couple good players.

Seton Hill is probably the sleeper. They have an excellent PG back for his sophomore year along with two studs underneath.

UPJ is UPJ. That was almost an all-freshmen team a year ago (by the end). Most are back. Rukavina even added a transfer or two (very rare).

Clarion lost Jayson Harris but returns some talent.



In the East ... I'd say the heavy money is on ESU. The Warriors look stacked.

[Ship69]

Well, I usually do a mid-summer West ranking and then another version once the rosters are finalized.

I only know one thing for sure entering the '24-'25 men's season in the West ... I don't have a clue.

Opening night is 36 days away. It used to be pretty easy by October to (fairly) accurately predict the division race. It sure isn't now with these rosters flipping yearly. Buy a program. You're going to need it.


(in no order)

Slippery Rock, on paper, is pretty loaded up. Their two stars return along with some nice imports.

It's probably safe to assume Gannon will be strong again. 'As' strong is probably a reach but who knows. This is basically a whole new team.

If healthy, IUP can be good. But, without knowing the status of two key players, it's hard to say. IUP should be much more well-rounded this year. Expect some growing pains.

Cal took some losses but has a lot back. Danny reloads quickly.

Edinboro has a lot of new D2-experienced imports. They lost a couple good players.

Seton Hill is probably the sleeper. They have an excellent PG back for his sophomore year along with two studs underneath.

UPJ is UPJ. That was almost an all-freshmen team a year ago (by the end). Most are back. Rukavina even added a transfer or two (very rare).

Clarion lost Jayson Harris but returns some talent.



In the East ... I'd say the heavy money is on ESU. The Warriors look stacked.

You've always been good at handicapping the West, but I agree that it has become a lot harder. I think your call for ESU in the East is probably correct. All the contenders in the East last season — ESU, Millersville, Lock Haven, and West Chester — have lost some studs, but ESU with McAliley and some other vets returning seems to have more depth. Jeff Wilson also is in a nice recruiting location, drawing from both the Philly area and Jersey, and is usually able to bring in some good talent annually. Mike Nestor has done a nice job keeping Lock Haven relevant, and Stitzel, while not my favorite guy, usually brings in enough to make them a tough out. West Chester is always an enigma.

You can see how hard it is to build from the bottom up by looking at Mansfield. The Ali brothers have departed for Lock Haven and Millersville, and guard and second-leading scorer Michael Dickson will be with Ship this season.

Ship, where Chris Fite's unprecedented run had spoiled Raider fans, came down with a thud last season, but of the four players transferring out Kyle Whippen was really the ony one that was unexpected. The Raiders retained East Rookie of the Year Markus Frank and will be surrounding him with more height and probably more potential talent this year, but it's likely going to take a while to build a cohesive team with four freshmen and three transfers in the mix.

Interestingly, with all the speculation about Frostburg since Mercyhurst departed the PSAC, the Raiders will be opening their season with two games at Frostburg, Nov. 9 against Frostburg and Nov. 10 against Salem. Ship hasn't played Frostburg in basketball since 1980. The Raiders have a 14-5 lifetime edge against Frostburg and beat them handily in their last meeting, but obviously records from 45 years or more ago mean zilch now.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

You've always been good at handicapping the West, but I agree that it has become a lot harder. I think your call for ESU in the East is probably correct. All the contenders in the East last season — ESU, Millersville, Lock Haven, and West Chester — have lost some studs, but ESU with McAliley and some other vets returning seems to have more depth. Jeff Wilson also is in a nice recruiting location, drawing from both the Philly area and Jersey, and is usually able to bring in some good talent annually. Mike Nestor has done a nice job keeping Lock Haven relevant, and Stitzel, while not my favorite guy, usually brings in enough to make them a tough out. West Chester is always an enigma.

You can see how hard it is to build from the bottom up by looking at Mansfield. The Ali brothers have departed for Lock Haven and Millersville, and guard and second-leading scorer Michael Dickson will be with Ship this season.

Ship, where Chris Fite's unprecedented run had spoiled Raider fans, came down with a thud last season, but of the four players transferring out Kyle Whippen was really the ony one that was unexpected. The Raiders retained East Rookie of the Year Markus Frank and will be surrounding him with more height and probably more potential talent this year, but it's likely going to take a while to build a cohesive team with four freshmen and three transfers in the mix.

Interestingly, with all the speculation about Frostburg since Mercyhurst departed the PSAC, the Raiders will be opening their season with two games at Frostburg, Nov. 9 against Frostburg and Nov. 10 against Salem. Ship hasn't played Frostburg in basketball since 1980. The Raiders have a 14-5 lifetime edge against Frostburg and beat them handily in their last meeting, but obviously records from 45 years or more ago mean zilch now.

Frostburg is an attractive football add for the PSAC. Not so much in hoops - not right now, anyway.

Fite hanging on to Frank was one of the biggest (non) moves of the off-season. He would have had many suitors. I hope your IUP import tears it up. But, that's a different discussion.

[Ship69]

Frostburg is an attractive football add for the PSAC. Not so much in hoops - not right now, anyway.

Fite hanging on to Frank was one of the biggest (non) moves of the off-season. He would have had many suitors. I hope your IUP import tears it up. But, that's a different discussion.

On another thread folks have been talking about Ship as a "remote" location, but it's sure not as remote as Frostburg out there in the western Md. panhandle. That said, it's not a bad drive from Ship and Shepherd, and not particularly far from some of the PSAC West schools, either, so it's a decent geographical fit. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years.

As for our IUP transfer, I think the coaches understand he didn't play last year and are just looking for some height to help with rebounding and defense on the front line. Tightening the defense is a high priority this season. Ship has a few guys who should be able to do some scoring.

[Scrub]

Ship, where Chris Fite's unprecedented run had spoiled Raider fans, came down with a thud last season, but of the four players transferring out Kyle Whippen was really the ony one that was unexpected.

Wait, you're saying a Whippen transfer was UN-expected? I'd say a Whippen transfer is a guarantee right up there with death and taxes. ; )

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Wait, you're saying a Whippen transfer was UN-expected? I'd say a Whippen transfer is a guarantee right up there with death and taxes. ; )

Lol

He can rotate homecoming weekends in the future.

[Ship69]

Wait, you're saying a Whippen transfer was UN-expected? I'd say a Whippen transfer is a guarantee right up there with death and taxes. ; )

All I know is that the coaches were not expecting him to leave.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

You've always been good at handicapping the West, but I agree that it has become a lot harder. I think your call for ESU in the East is probably correct. All the contenders in the East last season — ESU, Millersville, Lock Haven, and West Chester — have lost some studs, but ESU with McAliley and some other vets returning seems to have more depth. Jeff Wilson also is in a nice recruiting location, drawing from both the Philly area and Jersey, and is usually able to bring in some good talent annually. Mike Nestor has done a nice job keeping Lock Haven relevant, and Stitzel, while not my favorite guy, usually brings in enough to make them a tough out. West Chester is always an enigma.

You can see how hard it is to build from the bottom up by looking at Mansfield. The Ali brothers have departed for Lock Haven and Millersville, and guard and second-leading scorer Michael Dickson will be with Ship this season.

Ship, where Chris Fite's unprecedented run had spoiled Raider fans, came down with a thud last season, but of the four players transferring out Kyle Whippen was really the ony one that was unexpected. The Raiders retained East Rookie of the Year Markus Frank and will be surrounding him with more height and probably more potential talent this year, but it's likely going to take a while to build a cohesive team with four freshmen and three transfers in the mix.

Interestingly, with all the speculation about Frostburg since Mercyhurst departed the PSAC, the Raiders will be opening their season with two games at Frostburg, Nov. 9 against Frostburg and Nov. 10 against Salem. Ship hasn't played Frostburg in basketball since 1980. The Raiders have a 14-5 lifetime edge against Frostburg and beat them handily in their last meeting, but obviously records from 45 years or more ago mean zilch now.

Here's the real short version of my official West prediction:

1. California - Danny has (2) starters back and (2) top rotation players returning from a year ago. In this age, that makes him a 'veteran' team. Add to it his proven track record of excellent recruiting. I don't think the Vulcans will be as good as last year (when healthy) but the West as a whole won't be, either.

2. Gannon - Jordan Fee took the country by storm a year ago. He's long gone -- as well as most of his old team. Can the Knights rekindle the magic? Fee found some Portal gold a year ago -- and also had some stars already in-house. I don't suspect they'll be 'as' good, but, they'll be good.

3. Slippery Rock - Maceo Austin and Ike Herster return, in addition to a cast of quality role players. Add in the usual Rock imports, and this should be a pretty good team. SRU has a challenging first month.

4. Seton Hill - For those not in the know, this may come as a surprise. For those following closely, it will not. The Griffins will feature three star-quality sophomores this year at PG, SF and PF. Ryan Meis also returns, who may be in his 14th year in Greensburg. Seton Hill will be a contender this season.

5. IUP - Too many questions. This team could be a sleeping giant. It could be a disaster. Things are being kept very tight-lipped in the KCAC. Add to it a brutal schedule stretching from Opening Night to Santa's arrival. My hunch is Joe may have a pretty good team by January. But, it may be too late.

6. Clarion - The Golden Eagles will have a very strong starting group this season. The bench is a different story. As a program, Clarion is much better than it has been in the past 20 years. The wins are slowly creeping up and they aren't an easy out most nights.

7. Edinboro - The Scots have a wide variety of former D2 imports -- mostly at the guard positions. This should keep them fairly competitive in most games. Things are fairly suspect under the basket, however.

8. UPJ - The Mountain Cats are still very, very young. Brighter days are ahead, but not likely this year. As usual, they will be well-coached and have the ability to bite some opponents here and there.



Conclusion: Buckle up. This should be a wild race. There isn't a dominant team (as of now). One could probably make the case for teams 1-5 above being ranked in nearly any order. Teams 6-8 will also be capable on a given night of pulling some perceived upsets.

Mercyhurst isn't missed in football but it will be missed in basketball.

Times are changing. The old guard is vanishing. Is the Lombardi era winding down? How much longer will Rukavina hang around?

[Ship69]

Here's the real short version of my official West prediction:

1. California - Danny has (2) starters back and (2) top rotation players returning from a year ago. In this age, that makes him a 'veteran' team. Add to it his proven track record of excellent recruiting. I don't think the Vulcans will be as good as last year (when healthy) but the West as a whole won't be, either.

2. Gannon - Jordan Fee took the country by storm a year ago. He's long gone -- as well as most of his old team. Can the Knights rekindle the magic? Fee found some Portal gold a year ago -- and also had some stars already in-house. I don't suspect they'll be 'as' good, but, they'll be good.

3. Slippery Rock - Maceo Austin and Ike Herster return, in addition to a cast of quality role players. Add in the usual Rock imports, and this should be a pretty good team. SRU has a challenging first month.

4. Seton Hill - For those not in the know, this may come as a surprise. For those following closely, it will not. The Griffins will feature three star-quality sophomores this year at PG, SF and PF. Ryan Meis also returns, who may be in his 14th year in Greensburg. Seton Hill will be a contender this season.

5. IUP - Too many questions. This team could be a sleeping giant. It could be a disaster. Things are being kept very tight-lipped in the KCAC. Add to it a brutal schedule stretching from Opening Night to Santa's arrival. My hunch is Joe may have a pretty good team by January. But, it may be too late.

6. Clarion - The Golden Eagles will have a very strong starting group this season. The bench is a different story. As a program, Clarion is much better than it has been in the past 20 years. The wins are slowly creeping up and they aren't an easy out most nights.

7. Edinboro - The Scots have a wide variety of former D2 imports -- mostly at the guard positions. This should keep them fairly competitive in most games. Things are fairly suspect under the basket, however.

8. UPJ - The Mountain Cats are still very, very young. Brighter days are ahead, but not likely this year. As usual, they will be well-coached and have the ability to bite some opponents here and there.



Conclusion: Buckle up. This should be a wild race. There isn't a dominant team (as of now). One could probably make the case for teams 1-5 above being ranked in nearly any order. Teams 6-8 will also be capable on a given night of pulling some perceived upsets.

Mercyhurst isn't missed in football but it will be missed in basketball.

Times are changing. The old guard is vanishing. Is the Lombardi era winding down? How much longer will Rukavina hang around?

Interesting analysis. I think the league in both divisions will be as unpredictable as it's been in a while. Might be fun. I hope so.