PSAC EAST

[EastStroud13]

Re: PSAC EAST

Ship's Tip-Off Tournament ....


Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg, Virginia State and Virginia Union.

That's quite the field.

Obviously, ESU and Ship won't play one another.

If ESU can win at least one of those, it's automatically a better non-conference win than anything they had last year. Glad they scheduled that tournament.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

This thread is probably years overdue. The (men's) PSAC East has really emerged over the past several years. The addition of a solid Shepherd program -- and a Millersville program on the verge of exploding -- really makes this a deep division.

A lot of the East traditional powers took some heavy losses this off-season but all tend to reload quickly.



East Stroudsburg - Rising sophomore Ryan Smith (6'10", 240 lbs) is going to wreck havoc on the PSAC for the next three years. He was unreal as a true freshman this past season. However, the Warriors have some big shoes to fill. Josh Williams, Jakwan Jones and Nick Giordano all graduated. Jeff Wilson always finds players -- and lots of them. His biggest challenge may be keeping Smith from making the jump up a level.

West Chester - The Rams said goodbye to some long-term players -- Mike Jolaoso, Jackson Hyland, Frank Rokins, Matt Penecale and Miko Jenkins. That's a lot to lose in one off-season. Add to it, Evan-Eric Longino transferred out. But, WCU has a strong inside core returning, and, coach Damien Blair had a lot of money to spend this off-season. I know, WCU doesn't give many scholarships (wink, wink).


Kutztown - Anthony Lee is gone -- and that's a MAJOR loss -- but, almost the entire rest of the team returns. In addition, former Lock Haven star Tarojae Brake joins the team after sitting out last season (transfer block). Forwards Moe Williams and Josh Townsend will be a handful this season.

Shippensburg - Manny Span and Antonio Kellem left town, but that's it. Granted, those are two big losses. The Red Raiders return a lot of talent -- headlined by undersized but extremely effective forward John Castello and star guard Jake Biss. Look for guard Carlos Carter to have a breakout season. The Red Raiders also added Marist transfer Luke Nedrow, who will make an immediate impact in the post. Biss is likely a favorite of Player of the Year.

Millersville - The Marauders were so close last year. Star Marcus Adkison is gone, but a wealth of talent returns. This year's team will have no seniors, but is set up for a big two-year run. Clarion cast-off Khari Williams will have a huge season with real talent surrounding him. The 'Ville has strong, athletic guards and big, physical post players. They are going to be nasty this season.

Shepherd - The Rams enter PSAC play coming off a 14-16 season in their MEC swan song. They had a lot of close losses and return the core of the team. The East also plays more of a MEC style than the West, so that will help the transition.

Bloomsburg - The Huskies are coming of a 7-19 season which saw them take some major beatings. One positive is they played a ton of young guys a year ago.

Lock Haven - The Bald Eagles were fairly competitive a season ago, finishing 12-15. They were exceptionally young last season. If everybody returns, LHU could be in for a nice season.

Mansfield - The good news is last season is over. The bad news is another one starts soon.



Predicted order of finish:

1. Millersville
2. Shippensburg
3. East Stroudsburg
4. Kutztown
5. West Chester
6. Shepherd
7. Lock Haven
8. Bloomsburg
9. Mansfield

Well ..
Four months later a lot has changed. Obviously at the forefront is Ryan Smith's illness at East Stroudsburg.

I still like my 1-2 ... just think the order may have flipped.

With rosters posted, transfers and departures known, etc., ...

Revised order:

1. Shippensburg - Former WPIAL star and Marist transfer Nedrow was a huge addition (literally).
2. Millersville - Deep
3. Kutztown - Loaded, skilled post players
4. West Chester - Young but several nice, new pieces
5. ESU - Well-coached ... still a scary team to play.
6. Shepherd - We'll see.
7. Lock Haven
8. Bloomsburg
9. Mansfield


Brutal, deep division ...

[Ship69]

Re: PSAC EAST



If ESU can win at least one of those, it's automatically a better non-conference win than anything they had last year. Glad they scheduled that tournament.

That's been a great warmup tourney for Ship the past couple of seasons, and they've had good success with it under coach Fite. Virginia Union and Virginia State are almost always talented teams.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Kiyon Hardy has transferred from Kutztown to Shippensburg.

Hate to see same division transfers. There's been several in the East in the past couple years.

[boatcapt]

Well ..
Four months later a lot has changed. Obviously at the forefront is Ryan Smith's illness at East Stroudsburg.

I still like my 1-2 ... just think the order may have flipped.

With rosters posted, transfers and departures known, etc., ...

Revised order:

1. Shippensburg - Former WPIAL star and Marist transfer Nedrow was a huge addition (literally).
2. Millersville - Deep
3. Kutztown - Loaded, skilled post players
4. West Chester - Young but several nice, new pieces
5. ESU - Well-coached ... still a scary team to play.
6. Shepherd - We'll see.
7. Lock Haven
8. Bloomsburg
9. Mansfield


Brutal, deep division ...

Observation on Shepherd. Folks have been saying that they play a "MEC Style" game. Don't really know what that means, but if it means a free flowing offensive centric game that focuses on 3's and outscoring their opponents, that ain't Shepherd. They are a more "traditional" basketball team that tries to focus 50/50 on offense and defense. Their bug a boo is shooting % (overall and beyond the arc)...pretty bad which obviously keeps their scoring down in PSAC territory. They don't turn the ball over a whole lot but on the other hand, they don't get a lot of turnovers. They aren't a bad team, they just aren't a very good one either. They will win some games that they "shouldn't" but will also lose games were they seemingly are the better team. They are kind of the definition of a 500 team.

[Columbuseer]

Observation on Shepherd. Folks have been saying that they play a "MEC Style" game. Don't really know what that means, but if it means a free flowing offensive centric game that focuses on 3's and outscoring their opponents, that ain't Shepherd. They are a more "traditional" basketball team that tries to focus 50/50 on offense and defense. Their bug a boo is shooting % (overall and beyond the arc)...pretty bad which obviously keeps their scoring down in PSAC territory. They don't turn the ball over a whole lot but on the other hand, they don't get a lot of turnovers. They aren't a bad team, they just aren't a very good one either. They will win some games that they "shouldn't" but will also lose games were they seemingly are the better team. They are kind of the definition of a 500 team.

To me, shepherd has always been an enigma. Can't put a finger on what they are lacking. Their lack of depth hurt them against West lib even though they were playing well enough to win. They got tired and shooting declined. They might do better with the leisurely pace of PSAC lol

[IUPbigINDIANS]

To me, shepherd has always been an enigma. Can't put a finger on what they are lacking. Their lack of depth hurt them against West lib even though they were playing well enough to win. They got tired and shooting declined. They might do better with the leisurely pace of PSAC lol

Easy now. That 'leisurely' pace by Ship and Mercyhurst has blown WL out in the past two tournaments, and IUP ran Fairmont out of their own building last year (holding them in the 50s).

[Columbuseer]

Easy now. That 'leisurely' pace by Ship and Mercyhurst has blown WL out in the past two tournaments, and IUP ran Fairmont out of their own building last year (holding them in the 50s).

[Ship69]

Well ..
Four months later a lot has changed. Obviously at the forefront is Ryan Smith's illness at East Stroudsburg.

I still like my 1-2 ... just think the order may have flipped.

With rosters posted, transfers and departures known, etc., ...

Revised order:

1. Shippensburg - Former WPIAL star and Marist transfer Nedrow was a huge addition (literally).
2. Millersville - Deep
3. Kutztown - Loaded, skilled post players
4. West Chester - Young but several nice, new pieces
5. ESU - Well-coached ... still a scary team to play.
6. Shepherd - We'll see.
7. Lock Haven
8. Bloomsburg
9. Mansfield


Brutal, deep division ...

It should be fun. Talked to Ship coach Fite briefly Saturday, and he thinks he'll have a good team with some of the new additions and the return of some talented young guys from last season. Even though there's not usually huge attendance at Division II BB games, it always seems tough to win on the road in the PSAC. How it will all shake out is always difficult to predict.

[Bart]

Bloom should finish higher than the predicted 8th. Starters C Elmore returns after a good rookie year, and G Saxton returns for the senior year. G Mauras returns after sitting out the 2nd semester due to grades, and Max Wagner will start after sitting out last year due to transferring from Kutztown. Mortelite is back after announcing transfers to 2 different schools in the off season. If they can develop a bench with some newcomers, I expect they will make the PSAC playoffs.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Bloom should finish higher than the predicted 8th. Starters C Elmore returns after a good rookie year, and G Saxton returns for the senior year. G Mauras returns after sitting out the 2nd semester due to grades, and Max Wagner will start after sitting out last year due to transferring from Kutztown. Mortelite is back after announcing transfers to 2 different schools in the off season. If they can develop a bench with some newcomers, I expect they will make the PSAC playoffs.

The coaches' vote was pretty close in the East. I sure wouldn't want to bet any real money on picking the East winner. Teams 1-5 are very solid. If Bloom takes a step forward and with Shepherd added in .... brutal.

I like Ship's rotation 1-7. They are kind of light beyond that right now. ESU will be different without Smith but they have those speedy guards all over. Kutztown is solid. Millersville is loaded. WCU ... we'll see. Lost a ton but they reload quickly.

Those guys are going to beat the hell out of each other this year.

[Bart]

Bloom finally post their roster.

https://buhuskies.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster

[IUPbigINDIANS]

West Chester played LaSalle pretty tough yesterday ... lost by 13.


East Stroudsburg got hammered by Lafayette, 92-62.

Rider pummelled SRU.

[Ship69]

Easy now. That 'leisurely' pace by Ship and Mercyhurst has blown WL out in the past two tournaments, and IUP ran Fairmont out of their own building last year (holding them in the 50s).

Playing Shepherd is usually no walk in the park. They've had Ship's number in recent years and even beat them last season when Ship was the clear favorite.

[Horror Child]

West Chester played LaSalle pretty tough yesterday ... lost by 13.

For those using new math, the score was 70-63, so the margin was 7. Tied at 62 with 90 seconds left.

Granted LaSalle was only picked to finish 10th in the Atlantic 14, er Atlantic 10.