PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Uh.. just flipped through games.. Cal 57 - 17 Rock

Did cal bring in a new squad?

Everybody playing for SRU ? Holy smokes.

[bballfan03]

Everybody playing for SRU ? Holy smokes.

I didn't see any big names missing for rock.. and now new names for Cal.

Rock did shoot 30% in first half

1 and 13 had huge first halves. 13 outscored rock himself

[Ship69]

Not 100% confirmed but I've been told Cal's (3) post players are likely out for the season (Palek, Lucas and Arnette).

I'll always root against Danny straight up, but you don't like to see any team deal with this amount of injuries. No word if they plan to come back next year or not. Lucas and Palek have been there for a long time so we'll see. Arnette is younger so I'd assume he will return.

Lucas may be the best Small Forward in the league. He's so athletic for his size and can play a foot above the rim. Palek does so much for them inside and outside. Arnette is a physical grinder.

I hope they all recover well. Hopefully they can finish their careers on their terms.

Had this team been healthy, it would have certainly been in the Regional discussion.

The injuries have been unreal in the league this year. Ship is unfortunately starting to catch up in that department, and it had a real impact in the Raiders becoming Kutztown's first league victim last night. Freshman David Dorsey is the latest Raider to be seen on crutches and joining the tracksuit brigade. With him, Gabriel Romero-Sanz, and Michael Dickson all out with injuries, Ship is basically missing three of its top eight rotation. Dickson, in the four games he started for Ship this year, was averaging more than five assists a game. The current leader, forward Donovan Hill, gets a little over two a game. And when Hill get into quick foul trouble and had to sit for about 13 minutes of the first half Wednesday, an eight-point Ship lead turned into a four-point halftime deficit. When you lose your big guy, having two reserves who are 6-7 and 6-4 and unable to play does not help you. With the 6-8 Hill out, we drop down to 6-3 Denzel Figueroa. Denzel plays hard, but it was no surprise he had some trouble with Kutztown's 6-9 Tyler Koenig close to the basket. Dickson, specifically brought in to play point guard this year, might be done for the season. I'm not sure about the other two. This was not an especially deep team to begin with, and any more key injuries would probably turn a bleak outlook into disaster.

While I will never blame officiating for a loss, last night's officiating at Ship was just not good. Ship players were mugged going to the hoop all night, but they almost got back into the game when they were able to hack Kutztown players in return with a late press. The unsatisfactory rationale of it is what it is comes to mind.

[bballfan03]

The injuries have been unreal in the league this year. Ship is unfortunately starting to catch up in that department, and it had a real impact in the Raiders becoming Kutztown's first league victim last night. Freshman David Dorsey is the latest Raider to be seen on crutches and joining the tracksuit brigade. With him, Gabriel Romero-Sanz, and Michael Dickson all out with injuries, Ship is basically missing three of its top eight rotation. Dickson, in the four games he started for Ship this year, was averaging more than five assists a game. The current leader, forward Donovan Hill, gets a little over two a game. And when Hill get into quick foul trouble and had to sit for about 13 minutes of the first half Wednesday, an eight-point Ship lead turned into a four-point halftime deficit. When you lose your big guy, having two reserves who are 6-7 and 5-4 and unable to play does not help you. With the 6-8 Hill out, we drop down to 6-3 Denzel Figueroa. Denzel plays hard, but it was no surprise he had some trouble with Kutztown's 6-9 Tyler Koenig close to the basket. Dickson, specifically brought in to play point guard this year, might be done for the season. I'm not sure about the other two. This was not an especially deep team to begin with, and any more key injuries would probably turn a bleak outlook into disaster.

While I will never blame officiating for a loss, last night's officiating at Ship was just not good. Ship players were mugged going to the hoop all night, but they almost got back into the game when they were able to hack Kutztown players in return with a late press. The unsatisfactory rationale of it is what it is comes to mind.

The crew for GU/IUP was awful, too. While GU fortunately benefitted from the atrocity, as a basketball fan, it was hard to watch.

[bballfan03]

As I've said before, less than 25 pts isn't really a blowout with the style Gannon plays. Down 20+ in first half, down 16 at half, down 13 with 6+ to go.. win by 16.

Gannon again benefitted from some horrible referees, but they didn't get the foul calls in the first half and, luckily, they did when it mattered (even the ones that weren't fouls lol).

Funny how all these refs look old, but their judgment would say they're brand spanking new.

[Fightingscot82]

As I've said before, less than 25 pts isn't really a blowout with the style Gannon plays. Down 20+ in first half, down 16 at half, down 13 with 6+ to go.. win by 16.

Gannon again benefitted from some horrible referees, but they didn't get the foul calls in the first half and, luckily, they did when it mattered (even the ones that weren't fouls lol).

Funny how all these refs look old, but their judgment would say they're brand spanking new.

That Boro-Gannon crew had me scratching my head in the first half then pulling out hair in the second. I'm impressed that Jennings didn't get a technical. Good for Gannon.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UPDATED MEN'S WEST STANDINGS

-

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Gannon	9-0	14-2	W14
Slippery Rock	6-3	10-7	W1
Edinboro	5-5	8-8	L1
California	4-5	9-8	W2
Pitt-Johnstown	4-5	8-8	W1
IUP	3-5	7-8	L2
Seton Hill	3-6	10-7	L1
Clarion	3-6	8-7	L4

-

Observations:

* Teams 2-8 can all beat each other. They are all about equally average.

* After seeing Gannon in person, it is my opinion Gannon's team last year would smoke Gannon's team this year. The West being so weak this year, however, should mask that for now. The Knights are still a very strong team and without question an Atlantic Region front-runner, but I just don't think (as of now) they are nearly as powerful as last season. In fairness, Gannon has yet to play at full strength this season.

* The battle to just make the PSAC Tournament is going to be crazy in the West. As mentioned, aside from Gannon, the other teams will just beat each other up all season. You best win your home games.

* This isn't a 'parity' year in a good sense. The West is just full of incredibly average teams. They can all look good certain nights -- and look awful the next.

* A positive spin on this season is the division is about to experience one crazy race (for better or worse).

[Ship69]

UPDATED MEN'S WEST STANDINGS

-

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Gannon	9-0	14-2	W14
Slippery Rock	6-3	10-7	W1
Edinboro	5-5	8-8	L1
California	4-5	9-8	W2
Pitt-Johnstown	4-5	8-8	W1
IUP	3-5	7-8	L2
Seton Hill	3-6	10-7	L1
Clarion	3-6	8-7	L4

-

Observations:

* Teams 2-8 can all beat each other. They are all about equally average.

* After seeing Gannon in person, it is my opinion Gannon's team last year would smoke Gannon's team this year. The West being so weak this year, however, should mask that for now. The Knights are still a very strong team and without question an Atlantic Region front-runner, but I just don't think (as of now) they are nearly as powerful as last season. In fairness, Gannon has yet to play at full strength this season.

* The battle to just make the PSAC Tournament is going to be crazy in the West. As mentioned, aside from Gannon, the other teams will just beat each other up all season. You best win your home games.

* This isn't a 'parity' year in a good sense. The West is just full of incredibly average teams. They can all look good certain nights -- and look awful the next.

* A positive spin on this season is the division is about to experience one crazy race (for better or worse).

The East is really much the same this year except that there is no team as dominant as Gannon, and the bottom of the East is somewhat weaker than the West.

[bballfan03]

UPDATED MEN'S WEST STANDINGS

-

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Gannon	9-0	14-2	W14
Slippery Rock	6-3	10-7	W1
Edinboro	5-5	8-8	L1
California	4-5	9-8	W2
Pitt-Johnstown	4-5	8-8	W1
IUP	3-5	7-8	L2
Seton Hill	3-6	10-7	L1
Clarion	3-6	8-7	L4

-

Observations:

* Teams 2-8 can all beat each other. They are all about equally average.

* After seeing Gannon in person, it is my opinion Gannon's team last year would smoke Gannon's team this year. The West being so weak this year, however, should mask that for now. The Knights are still a very strong team and without question an Atlantic Region front-runner, but I just don't think (as of now) they are nearly as powerful as last season. In fairness, Gannon has yet to play at full strength this season.

* The battle to just make the PSAC Tournament is going to be crazy in the West. As mentioned, aside from Gannon, the other teams will just beat each other up all season. You best win your home games.

* This isn't a 'parity' year in a good sense. The West is just full of incredibly average teams. They can all look good certain nights -- and look awful the next.

* A positive spin on this season is the division is about to experience one crazy race (for better or worse).

I don't know if this team isn't as good or if the coaching moves aren't as strategic/educated. Nothing against Bazzoli, but Fee obviously has a ton more experience with this system. I think overall, this team has more, better basketball players than last year's team - just don't have anyone that can take over. Last year Omajafo was the workhorse that could take over most games, Tipton was a unicorn 6'3 kid that played like a 6'9 kid. They had a good hustle bunch and played well as a team.

this team i truly believe has more overall better basketball players than last years.. but no one that can take over and they're definitely not as well oiled as last years team. The defense is hugely flawed. Look at how many 5 second and 10 second calls GU forced last year.. nowhere near that this year. Most teams seem to beat the press with some ease after a few tries. Fee seemed to be able to get the team to adjust and improve whereas this year they seem to just keep doing the same thing. It works but nowhere near as well as last year. Now the one pro od this system is regardless of the ability to properly defend, you're going to run the other team down by pressing all game and playing 8-9 players for shorter stints.

I'm curious to see how this ends up.. PSAC Championship is definitely possible (I'm fearing the Rock Wednesday night). I don't feel as confident about the Region, however.

[Ship69]

I don't know if this team isn't as good or if the coaching moves aren't as strategic/educated. Nothing against Bazzoli, but Fee obviously has a ton more experience with this system. I think overall, this team has more, better basketball players than last year's team - just don't have anyone that can take over. Last year Omajafo was the workhorse that could take over most games, Tipton was a unicorn 6'3 kid that played like a 6'9 kid. They had a good hustle bunch and played well as a team.

this team i truly believe has more overall better basketball players than last years.. but no one that can take over and they're definitely not as well oiled as last years team. The defense is hugely flawed. Look at how many 5 second and 10 second calls GU forced last year.. nowhere near that this year. Most teams seem to beat the press with some ease after a few tries. Fee seemed to be able to get the team to adjust and improve whereas this year they seem to just keep doing the same thing. It works but nowhere near as well as last year. Now the one pro od this system is regardless of the ability to properly defend, you're going to run the other team down by pressing all game and playing 8-9 players for shorter stints.

I'm curious to see how this ends up.. PSAC Championship is definitely possible (I'm fearing the Rock Wednesday night). I don't feel as confident about the Region, however.

I think the unusual number of injuries and youth in the league this year plays into the hands of a team such as Gannon. When you have a team that might already have a thin bench and get a couple of injuries to quality players, it becomes tough to keep up with a team that runs a 9-10 player pressing system. Get a couple of people in quick foul trouble, and it's a big problem. If you have a young team, your ball handlers might have problems with the press. And the 30-second clock keeps you from deep-sixing the ball if you'd like to slow down the pace. Running a press (if you have the personnel to do it) is a smart move the way the game is set up today.

Gannon does appear to be best in the PSAC so far this season, but I agree with you about the region. We'll have to see if Gannon is just the biggest fish in what seems to be a small PSAC pond this year.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I think the unusual number of injuries and youth in the league this year plays into the hands of a team such as Gannon. When you have a team that might already have a thin bench and get a couple of injuries to quality players, it becomes tough to keep up with a team that runs a 9-10 player pressing system. Get a couple of people in quick foul trouble, and it's a big problem. If you have a young team, your ball handlers might have problems with the press. And the 30-second clock keeps you from deep-sixing the ball if you'd like to slow down the pace. Running a press (if you have the personnel to do it) is a smart move the way the game is set up today.

Gannon does appear to be best in the PSAC so far this season, but I agree with you about the region. We'll have to see if Gannon is just the biggest fish in what seems to be a small PSAC pond this year.

The irony in this to IUP fans (the ones who have actually watched this team all year) is -- as we've been saying all along -- Joe actually played his best game against the most up-tempo team he'll see all year.

For all its faults, this remaining IUP team has one thing: Speed -- and, a lot of it.

He won't do it, but his current team would win more games playing up-and-down than they will playing his coveted Turtle Ball. His roster this year is actually built to play the exact opposite of his traditional style. Now, being that he built said roster, ... that's a whole different discussion.

His team cannot play the standard IUP system. They aren't built for that offense and defense. This team can be pretty dangerous, however, when he lets them run and press. What's funny is when the sh!t hits the fan and chaos ensues, this team is actually pretty good. When the game is structured, well, they aren't so good.

Joe is so stubborn and set in his ways he'll make them stay in his normal offense/defense until he blows a gasket at halftime (when they are typically getting smoked as of late). Then in the second half they go more AAU and get back in all these games.

[Ship69]

The irony in this to IUP fans (the ones who have actually watched this team all year) is -- as we've been saying all along -- Joe actually played his best game against the most up-tempo team he'll see all year.

For all its faults, this remaining IUP team has one thing: Speed -- and, a lot of it.

He won't do it, but his current team would win more games playing up-and-down than they will playing his coveted Turtle Ball. His roster this year is actually built to play the exact opposite of his traditional style. Now, being that he built said roster, ... that's a whole different discussion.

His team cannot play the standard IUP system. They aren't built for that offense and defense. This team can be pretty dangerous, however, when he lets them run and press. What's funny is when the sh!t hits the fan and chaos ensues, this team is actually pretty good. When the game is structured, well, they aren't so good.

Joe is so stubborn and set in his ways he'll make them stay in his normal offense/defense until he blows a gasket at halftime (when they are typically getting smoked as of late). Then in the second half they go more AAU and get back in all these games.

Sounds like we need to make a deal: We'll put Ship's team out there for the first half of your games, and IUP's team for the second halves of ours.

[Fightingscot82]

Gannon's renovated arena opened last night. Looks nice. Mostly just a big internal facelift but nothing much to the actual basketball court than a refresh. From what I saw online it looks much brighter in there.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

UPDATED MEN'S STANDINGS

-

TEAM	PSAC	OVERALL	STREAK
Gannon	10-0	15-2	W15
Slippery Rock	6-4	10-8	L1
California	5-5	10-8	W3
Edinboro	5-5	9-8	W1
IUP	4-5	8-8	W1
Pitt-Johnstown	4-6	8-9	L1
Seton Hill	3-6	10-7	L1
Clarion	3-7	8-8	L5

-

Observations:

* The overall records can be a bit deceiving. Some played much tougher non-conference games than others. But, aside from Gannon, this division is essentially a slew of .500 (ish) teams.

* Slippery Rock got blasted by Gannon last night. Rock star guard Maceo Austin missed the game (again). Not sure what's up with his status moving forward. But, their record without him is pretty bad. They are much, much different with him.

* Cal is trying to make things work. The Vulcans are on a nice 3-game winning streak since the beating in Erie.

* Edinboro has far and away the most deceiving record in the West. The Scots are a legit team. They've just lost a huge amount of really tight games. If they can reverse that trend and start closing out those 50/50 games, they could make some noise.

* IUP is slowly evolving to what I'd call a 'dangerous' team. Joe's team is too inconsistent (sometimes from timeout to timeout) but the kids are growing up (slowly).

* Clarion's hot start has quickly become a memory. The Golden Eagles have dropped (5) straight.

* Teams 2-8 can all beat each other. It may not be pretty, but it will be an entertaining race.

* UPJ didn't play well in the first half at IUP last night. If Rukavina can get them playing a full 40 minutes, they could be a tough out. Ryan Smith is one of the top players in the league this year.

[IUPalum]

Gannon's renovated arena opened last night. Looks nice. Mostly just a big internal facelift but nothing much to the actual basketball court than a refresh. From what I saw online it looks much brighter in there.

Brighter paint job and the plush seats were new. Other than that... ??? I'm hoping they did the locker room areas because those were god awful.