PSAC WEST

[Scrub]

Beating a WLU Style team like Gannon is "easy"...on film. Also easy to "teach" in practice. The hard part is doing it in an actual game. To beat them you have to do three things...1. DON'T get drug into up tempo - It is SOOOO seductive for a player when he has broken the press to take it to the rack for an easy 2...but that is what these teams WANT. They will trade 2's for 3's all day long and will get you wore out in the process. 2. Pull their "bigs" inside - System bigs are not really bigs...think of them as tall guards...If you can get them inside with your bigs, they are probably going to get into foul trouble. 3. Go deep...and OFTEN - Even if you don't typically play your top 10 players, you need to against a Style team. Substitute early and often to keep your starting 5 as fresh as possible. Even if your starting 5 are able to hang with (or even build a comfortable lead) over the first half through multiple Style platoon changes, you are playing into their hands...they WANT you to keep your starters in to get more and more tired. 4. Defend the 3 first...even if it comes at the cost of a 2 - Style teams typically win and die by the 3...both percentage and sheer volume. Contest every 3 as if there is 3 seconds on the clock and you are up by 3 points. If you can take away or even limit their 3 game, they become much easier to beat.

Seems easy...but history has shown that it isn't.

That's a really good write-up of the blueprint for beating it, Boat. Well said.

And if you want video evidence, just watch Charleston's performance yesterday. They did every one of these things to a tee. I'm pretty sure someone in a Charleston jersey is still following Zach Rasile into his Marketing class today. He couldn't breathe all day long. Defend that first 3, and the result is that WLU has to live with D'Augustino slashing to the rim as their leading scorer. That's not how the Toppers prefer to draw it up.

[boatcapt]

It will be interesting to see how the league reacts to Gannon, and this year's regional should be interesting, too.

You probably remember Ship crushing West Liberty by 30 points in the regional a few years back. Ship had several good guards (Justin Macarthur for one) plus Dustin Sleva. When one of my West Virginia friends saw the 98-66 score, he said his initial thought was that it must be a misprint. Problem was Ship was red-hot the first two games of that regional (also crushed top-seeded Virginia State) and then laid an egg against East Stroud in the regional final. I'll always wish that team had made the Elite Eight. When they were having a good shooting night, I think they were capable of knocking anybody off. This season certainly made me appreciate that team more!

Sometime teams and/or players get on heaters and it's dam near impossible to stop them. Then, suddenly and for no apparent reason, its gone.

[boatcapt]

There certainly will need to be some adjustment, but it was more than just the system. The guy brought in a bunch of good players. Included on their roster were players from Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Maryland, and two guys from Turkey. Josh Omojafo, from Ontario, Canada, was their leading scorer and probably one of the top half-dozen players I saw in the conference this season, and he was a sophomore. They apparently have some bucks to burn up at Gannon and seem to use it more effectively for BB than they do for football. I certainly didn't see many teams in either division of the PSAC this year that had enough quality players to keep up with Gannon. Cal was closest with a very talented top 7.

I kept reading about how Sancomb had seen the system and knew how to handle it better than others, but I thought they fell into Gannon's trap in the last couple of meetings. I think what is dangerous for Cal is that they have enough talented players to think they can play the uptempo game with Gannon. They certainly did that in the early stages of the game Sunday, but they don't play more than 7-8 players and gassed out in the second half. They need to use at least 20 seconds every time down the floor and not toss up quick three-pointers. Gannon is vulnerable on the boards, but not if you throw up a three-pointer before you have rebounders in position. It'll be interesting to see if they try anything different if they meet for a fourth time in the regional, which is certainly not impossible. I'll also be interested in seeing how Millersville, which had mixed results against uptempo teams this season, fares with West Liberty. The Marauders under Casey Stitzel have usually thrived in grinding halfcourt games. They traded routs with Gannon this year and took two of three from East Stroud.

Adjusting is easier said than done. If Fee continues to have the type of success he had this season, coaches will certainly start scheming against it. But you have to have enough talent to do it. Ship tried to play faster this season, but they got caught with an inexperienced, undersized roster and got toasted on the defensive end all season. I expect Chris Fite to get it back on track, but it's going to take time. Bottom line is that they'll have to beat Fee the same way you beat most opponents — with better players.

Beating a WLU Style team like Gannon is "easy"...on film. Also easy to "teach" in practice. The hard part is doing it in an actual game. To beat them you have to do three things...1. DON'T get drug into up tempo - It is SOOOO seductive for a player when he has broken the press to take it to the rack for an easy 2...but that is what these teams WANT. They will trade 2's for 3's all day long and will get you wore out in the process. 2. Pull their "bigs" inside - System bigs are not really bigs...think of them as tall guards...If you can get them inside with your bigs, they are probably going to get into foul trouble. 3. Go deep...and OFTEN - Even if you don't typically play your top 10 players, you need to against a Style team. Substitute early and often to keep your starting 5 as fresh as possible. Even if your starting 5 are able to hang with (or even build a comfortable lead) over the first half through multiple Style platoon changes, you are playing into their hands...they WANT you to keep your starters in to get more and more tired. 4. Defend the 3 first...even if it comes at the cost of a 2 - Style teams typically win and die by the 3...both percentage and sheer volume. Contest every 3 as if there is 3 seconds on the clock and you are up by 3 points. If you can take away or even limit their 3 game, they become much easier to beat.

Seems easy...but history has shown that it isn't.

[Ship69]

Watch the film on how IUP beat WL in 2015 and how Charleston did last night. That's the blueprint to beating the chaos. But, as you said, it's easier said than done. You need extremely disciplined players (and big guards help, too).

I don't know what Cal was thinking yesterday. They aren't deep enough to join the track race. They very obviously ran out of gas and were chucking awful (low percentage) treys far too often (exactly what GU baited them to do).

Oddly, IUP gave GU its toughest games since Christmas. They stayed disciplined and didn't jump in to the craziness. Joe needed one more guard and he probably wins both games.

I'd love to see Gannon and Charleston play again. I don't think UC was full strength the first meeting. Charleston is very impressive.

It will be interesting to see how the league reacts to Gannon, and this year's regional should be interesting, too.

You probably remember Ship crushing West Liberty by 30 points in the regional a few years back. Ship had several good guards (Justin Macarthur for one) plus Dustin Sleva. When one of my West Virginia friends saw the 98-66 score, he said his initial thought was that it must be a misprint. Problem was Ship was red-hot the first two games of that regional (also crushed top-seeded Virginia State) and then laid an egg against East Stroud in the regional final. I'll always wish that team had made the Elite Eight. When they were having a good shooting night, I think they were capable of knocking anybody off. This season certainly made me appreciate that team more!

[Ship69]

I don't think the PSAC will pay for a neutral site. Plus PA is too provincial similar to NY. What happens is the PSAC pays a ton of money to rent the Giant Center and they have only a couple hundred attend. At least with the current host situation you get some people. For broadcast discussion, part of the host school commitment should be producing the broadcast.

I think you hit it on the head. The attendance likely wouldn't justify paying for a big arena. The league doesn't do much in the way of marketing, and local television, at least in our area, doesn't cover the PSAC at all. If you watch the Harrisburg stations, you'd have no idea that a PSAC basketball tourney was going on or even that the PSAC played basketball. This despite the fact that a bunch of kids from our area play on PSAC teams.

An alternative might be to rent a big high school gym that is somewhat centrally located. There are certainly facilities in this area big enough to handle a typical PSAC crowd. In my town, I think you might even draw some casual fans as a four-team tourney coming in would be sort of a big deal. Probably would never happen, but what the heck. It certainly would be better to not have to go to the extreme east or west regions of the state during tourney season.

I've also thought the league misses a big opportunity to play at different venues during the December holiday break, when attendance for home games is crap anyway. But sometimes NCAA and league rules get in the way of doing things such as that. I don't know if the NCAA is still stifling charity games. A charity game at a community near campus would have the potential to be a big draw. With gambling on games rampant now, some of the NCAA restrictions seem to be stuck in the past.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There certainly will need to be some adjustment, but it was more than just the system. The guy brought in a bunch of good players. Included on their roster were players from Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Maryland, and two guys from Turkey. Josh Omojafo, from Ontario, Canada, was their leading scorer and probably one of the top half-dozen players I saw in the conference this season, and he was a sophomore. They apparently have some bucks to burn up at Gannon and seem to use it more effectively for BB than they do for football. I certainly didn't see many teams in either division of the PSAC this year that had enough quality players to keep up with Gannon. Cal was closest with a very talented top 7.

I kept reading about how Sancomb had seen the system and knew how to handle it better than others, but I thought they fell into Gannon's trap in the last couple of meetings. I think what is dangerous for Cal is that they have enough talented players to think they can play the uptempo game with Gannon. They certainly did that in the early stages of the game Sunday, but they don't play more than 7-8 players and gassed out in the second half. They need to use at least 20 seconds every time down the floor and not toss up quick three-pointers. Gannon is vulnerable on the boards, but not if you throw up a three-pointer before you have rebounders in position. It'll be interesting to see if they try anything different if they meet for a fourth time in the regional, which is certainly not impossible. I'll also be interested in seeing how Millersville, which had mixed results against uptempo teams this season, fares with West Liberty. The Marauders under Casey Stitzel have usually thrived in grinding halfcourt games. They traded routs with Gannon this year and took two of three from East Stroud.

Adjusting is easier said than done. If Fee continues to have the type of success he had this season, coaches will certainly start scheming against it. But you have to have enough talent to do it. Ship tried to play faster this season, but they got caught with an inexperienced, undersized roster and got toasted on the defensive end all season. I expect Chris Fite to get it back on track, but it's going to take time. Bottom line is that they'll have to beat Fee the same way you beat most opponents — with better players.

Watch the film on how IUP beat WL in 2015 and how Charleston did last night. That's the blueprint to beating the chaos. But, as you said, it's easier said than done. You need extremely disciplined players (and big guards help, too).

I don't know what Cal was thinking yesterday. They aren't deep enough to join the track race. They very obviously ran out of gas and were chucking awful (low percentage) treys far too often (exactly what GU baited them to do).

Oddly, IUP gave GU its toughest games since Christmas. They stayed disciplined and didn't jump in to the craziness. Joe needed one more guard and he probably wins both games.

I'd love to see Gannon and Charleston play again. I don't think UC was full strength the first meeting. Charleston is very impressive.

[Ship69]

Something I learned recently is that some schools have the broadcasts produced by the athletic department. I thought most just left it up to the student radio and TV stations and coordinated the video feed to the masses. I wonder what that breakdown is. The exception to the student broadcasts is probably Cal. They're usually pretty good in quality and substance.

Shepherd's football broadcasts are usually pretty good. I haven't watched many of their basketball broadcasts.

[Fightingscot82]

Well, a WV league had a Pittsburgh TV quality broadcast. The PSAC had, well, a typical broadcast that was what we've come to expect watching on our computers (one camera that occasionally forgets to follow the action from one end of the court to the other). That's not to mention the audio was the equivalent of listening to two truckers talk on their CBs.

It's also my opinion that for Final Four weekend they should hire professional announcers -- ones not affiliated with the home team. As Ship69 said yesterday, a championship game broadcast doesn't need a homer announcer yapping about foul calls the whole game.

The technical issues happen at this level. For a championship game, it had the production quality of a high school game. The league should treat is a big thing -- not the equivalent to some game in early January. Yesterday was not a good look for the PSAC (production-wise).

Something I learned recently is that some schools have the broadcasts produced by the athletic department. I thought most just left it up to the student radio and TV stations and coordinated the video feed to the masses. I wonder what that breakdown is. The exception to the student broadcasts is probably Cal. They're usually pretty good in quality and substance.

[Ship69]

Coaches are reluctant to adjust what they do... particularly if they have been successful. Gannon won this year because of Coach Fee and the system he installed. Sadly for most of the returning PSAC coaches, they probably will not adjust.

There certainly will need to be some adjustment, but it was more than just the system. The guy brought in a bunch of good players. Included on their roster were players from Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Maryland, and two guys from Turkey. Josh Omojafo, from Ontario, Canada, was their leading scorer and probably one of the top half-dozen players I saw in the conference this season, and he was a sophomore. They apparently have some bucks to burn up at Gannon and seem to use it more effectively for BB than they do for football. I certainly didn't see many teams in either division of the PSAC this year that had enough quality players to keep up with Gannon. Cal was closest with a very talented top 7.

I kept reading about how Sancomb had seen the system and knew how to handle it better than others, but I thought they fell into Gannon's trap in the last couple of meetings. I think what is dangerous for Cal is that they have enough talented players to think they can play the uptempo game with Gannon. They certainly did that in the early stages of the game Sunday, but they don't play more than 7-8 players and gassed out in the second half. They need to use at least 20 seconds every time down the floor and not toss up quick three-pointers. Gannon is vulnerable on the boards, but not if you throw up a three-pointer before you have rebounders in position. It'll be interesting to see if they try anything different if they meet for a fourth time in the regional, which is certainly not impossible. I'll also be interested in seeing how Millersville, which had mixed results against uptempo teams this season, fares with West Liberty. The Marauders under Casey Stitzel have usually thrived in grinding halfcourt games. They traded routs with Gannon this year and took two of three from East Stroud.

Adjusting is easier said than done. If Fee continues to have the type of success he had this season, coaches will certainly start scheming against it. But you have to have enough talent to do it. Ship tried to play faster this season, but they got caught with an inexperienced, undersized roster and got toasted on the defensive end all season. I expect Chris Fite to get it back on track, but it's going to take time. Bottom line is that they'll have to beat Fee the same way you beat most opponents — with better players.

[WarriorVoice]

That you’re a jackass IUP hater and ESU Homer which is why everyone on this board hates you and gives you ****! Amazing how the Ship fans were hammering your dumbass the last two days! Choke on your mic!

Triggered much?! Seriously, I have friends in real life and don't need to impress anyone on a message board. What about you?

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't think the PSAC will pay for a neutral site. Plus PA is too provincial similar to NY. What happens is the PSAC pays a ton of money to rent the Giant Center and they have only a couple hundred attend. At least with the current host situation you get some people. For broadcast discussion, part of the host school commitment should be producing the broadcast.

Well, a WV league had a Pittsburgh TV quality broadcast. The PSAC had, well, a typical broadcast that was what we've come to expect watching on our computers (one camera that occasionally forgets to follow the action from one end of the court to the other). That's not to mention the audio was the equivalent of listening to two truckers talk on their CBs.

It's also my opinion that for Final Four weekend they should hire professional announcers -- ones not affiliated with the home team. As Ship69 said yesterday, a championship game broadcast doesn't need a homer announcer yapping about foul calls the whole game.

The technical issues happen at this level. For a championship game, it had the production quality of a high school game. The league should treat is a big thing -- not the equivalent to some game in early January. Yesterday was not a good look for the PSAC (production-wise).

[Fightingscot82]

That might be due, in part, to neutral site. No single school is running it--it's run by the league office.

Until the PSAC goes neutral site (in, say, Hershey) they'll likely keep relying on local broadcasts.

I don't think the PSAC will pay for a neutral site. Plus PA is too provincial similar to NY. What happens is the PSAC pays a ton of money to rent the Giant Center and they have only a couple hundred attend. At least with the current host situation you get some people. For broadcast discussion, part of the host school commitment should be producing the broadcast.

[boatcapt]

Props to Gannon. Incredible turnaround. They have good players, but Fee did a masterful job with this team. Won all the close games. If this year didn’t wake up some of the old guard in the PSAC, it better have.

Coaches are reluctant to adjust what they do... particularly if they have been successful. Gannon won this year because of Coach Fee and the system he installed. Sadly for most of the returning PSAC coaches, they probably will not adjust.

[Scrub]

The PSAC needs to get it's head out of its a$$. That broadcast was a pure embarrassment.

Turn on the MEC broadcast and see how they compare.

That might be due, in part, to neutral site. No single school is running it--it's run by the league office.

Until the PSAC goes neutral site (in, say, Hershey) they'll likely keep relying on local broadcasts.

[IUPHawks24]

Props to Gannon. Incredible turnaround. They have good players, but Fee did a masterful job with this team. Won all the close games. If this year didn’t wake up some of the old guard in the PSAC, it better have.