PSAC EAST

[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

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC EAST

Dustin Sleva has signed a two-year extension with Paris Basketball.

[Columbuseer]

Re: PSAC EAST

It will be interesting to see how Shepherd adjusts to the PSAC East. They often played WLU tough, but their lack of depth eventually took its toll due to the WL human wave attack of two platoons playing like banshees. A couple of years ago at Shepherd they jumped on WLU out of the gate like 20-5 and wound up losing. They had great shooters, but the fatigue caused the shots not to fall later in the half. I got the feeling that they would be more successful in a slower paced game.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC EAST

It will be interesting to see how Shepherd adjusts to the PSAC East. They often played WLU tough, but their lack of depth eventually took its toll due to the WL human wave attack of two platoons playing like banshees. A couple of years ago at Shepherd they jumped on WLU out of the gate like 20-5 and wound up losing. They had great shooters, but the fatigue caused the shots not to fall later in the half. I got the feeling that they would be more successful in a slower paced game.

The East is brutal. It plays more like the MEC. The West is the slow game.

It's funny how within the same league there are essentially two different styles.

From memory Shep played WL real tight twice last year. Seemed like they got up for those games but were really flat in some others.

But, by and large, you have the normal powers in the East and now Millersville may be the best of all them this year. If Shep shows up they'll have six good teams over there. Cannibalism.

[Golden89]

Re: PSAC EAST

The East is brutal. It plays more like the MEC. The West is the slow game.

It's funny how within the same league there are essentially two different styles.

From memory Shep played WL real tight twice last year. Seemed like they got up for those games but were really flat in some others.

But, by and large, you have the normal powers in the East and now Millersville may be the best of all them this year. If Shep shows up they'll have six good teams over there. Cannibalism.

I agree that it's fascinating that the West and East are two markedly different styles of play. The West has been driven over the years by Reilly, Manchel, Reynolds and Lombardi (to a lesser extent ... I considered IUP more of a normal pace than a slow pace). I wonder how that will evolve now that Reilly and Reynolds are gone.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC EAST

I agree that it's fascinating that the West and East are two markedly different styles of play. The West has been driven over the years by Reilly, Manchel, Reynolds and Lombardi (to a lesser extent ... I considered IUP more of a normal pace than a slow pace). I wonder how that will evolve now that Reilly and Reynolds are gone.

Hard to say on the SRU front. Grady inherited a Reynolds-built team and had to play it as built. Even this coming year with Till they can only really play one style (traditional SRU muscle). We'll see what Grady does in the post-Till years.

From what I've heard, it sounds like (and, this is odd to say) Gannon will be more up-tempo. No complaints here. That's two less 'muck it up' games a year I have to watch.

[CALUPA69]

Re: PSAC EAST

Hard to say on the SRU front. Grady inherited a Reynolds-built team and had to play it as built. Even this coming year with Till they can only really play one style (traditional SRU muscle). We'll see what Grady does in the post-Till years.

From what I've heard, it sounds like (and, this is odd to say) Gannon will be more up-tempo. No complaints here. That's two less 'muck it up' games a year I have to watch.

Though not near the top tier, I suspect DANNY SANCOMB will move toward an up-tempo style if his recruit list is to be believed. It could be the entire league is headed in that direction with a few significant holdouts.

[Columbuseer]

Re: PSAC EAST

The East is brutal. It plays more like the MEC. The West is the slow game.

It's funny how within the same league there are essentially two different styles.

From memory Shep played WL real tight twice last year. Seemed like they got up for those games but were really flat in some others.

But, by and large, you have the normal powers in the East and now Millersville may be the best of all them this year. If Shep shows up they'll have six good teams over there. Cannibalism.

If the pace and more importantly the pressure is just somewhat slower than the MEC it might help shepherd. MEC had 3 teams in top 11 in scoring and 7 in top 40. PSAC has 2 in top 40 with ESU at number 13 and Kutztown at 28. Be interested to see how it works out for shepherd.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC EAST

If the pace and more importantly the pressure is just somewhat slower than the MEC it might help shepherd. MEC had 3 teams in top 11 in scoring and 7 in top 40. PSAC has 2 in top 40 with ESU at number 13 and Kutztown at 28. Be interested to see how it works out for shepherd.

I can see how WL's 'chaos' press overwhelms many teams. That said, I also saw Mercyhurst shred it and also saw IUP destroy Fairmont State's press last year.

What I found odd -- was that WL's press really rattled East Stroudsburg -- a team that also presses 40 minutes a game. My theory with East Stroudsburg struggling with it was they don't get pressed all year because teams spend too much energy breaking their press. That ESU/WL game was certainly entertaining to watch.

[Columbuseer]

Re: PSAC EAST

Yep - you can win with any style - some are just harder than others to execute year after year.
I watched both games at IUP.
I thought WLU's positionless offense confused ESU. Do they bring their talented big out to guard Meininger at the point? Sometimes he kind of stayed in no-man's land where he couldn't get rebounds but was not close enough to contest Meininger's shot. Meininger was a point guard growing up, so he was very comfortable there.

Mercyhurst - what a team - They came so close to going all the way but unfortunately drew the undefeated 800 lb gorilla in the Elite 8. I wish they would have met NWMS in the finals.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC EAST

Yep - you can win with any style - some are just harder than others to execute year after year.
I watched both games at IUP.
I thought WLU's positionless offense confused ESU. Do they bring their talented big out to guard Meininger at the point? Sometimes he kind of stayed in no-man's land where he couldn't get rebounds but was not close enough to contest Meininger's shot. Meininger was a point guard growing up, so he was very comfortable there.

Mercyhurst - what a team - They came so close to going all the way but unfortunately drew the undefeated 800 lb gorilla in the Elite 8. I wish they would have met NWMS in the finals.

At the end, yeah, they were real good. To Gary's credit he got two one-year stars to mesh well.

They got that 8 seed in the E8. Tough draw. They got a team that played a similar style. The team that knocked Crutch out played real similar to Mercyhurst. So, that was three really heavy defensive teams that made the E8.

[Columbuseer]

Re: PSAC EAST

At the end, yeah, they were real good. To Gary's credit he got two one-year stars to mesh well.

They got that 8 seed in the E8. Tough draw. They got a team that played a similar style. The team that knocked Crutch out played real similar to Mercyhurst. So, that was three really heavy defensive teams that made the E8.

Crutch had really bad luck. One of his stars broke both hands in the conference tourney and did not play in E8. Might not have made a difference but one never knows.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Re: PSAC EAST

Recently-graduated Josh Williams (East Stroudsburg) has signed with the Den Helder Suns (top Dutch division).


That's three so far from the last year's PSAC (Cobo, Willem and Williams). I'm assuming Patrick Smith will also find a home (if he wants to keep playing).

[Bart]

Re: PSAC EAST

Recently-graduated Josh Williams (East Stroudsburg) has signed with the Den Helder Suns (top Dutch division).


That's three so far from the last year's PSAC (Cobo, Willem and Williams). I'm assuming Patrick Smith will also find a home (if he wants to keep playing).

WCU's Jackson Hyland signed too.
https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/spo...ts-bbl-3098444

[IUPbigINDIANS]

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.