# 9: The Manhattan Jaspers
Head Coach: Barry "Slice" Rohrssen
2009-2010 Record: 11-20
2009-2010 Conference Record: 4-14
The Jaspers file in at # 9 on this list. Similar to their pals over at Marist, Manhattan has taken a fall over the past few years. A program which has been historically one of the leagues gems has since fallen into the bottom half of the league. As to date, I would bet that they would stay in the bottom half, approximately at # 9. Examining their roster, there is an abundance of unrecognizable names. Six new roster spots have been filled.
At a quick glance this would lead a follower of the league to believe this will not help their current mediocrity in the league. Gunner Rico Pickett jumped ship after one year, and that means his 30 point outbursts will be gone. All league performer Darryl Crawford used up his four years of eligibility, and one of the most irritating big men in the league, Brandon Adams, is no longer around to play garbage man. This all seems negative for the Jaspers. But are new faces a good thing in Riverdale?
The Low Down On The Jaspers:
Rohrssen's teams have been somewhat of an enigma to figure out. He often carries a boatload of talent and on some nights they look like The Globetrotters. Other nights they look like The Generals, which we all know folks ALWAYS ends in a loss. As I mentioned Pickett and his points are gone, but his turnovers and "me first" attitude are gone with him. There will be plenty of shots to go around this season with Pickett gone. The question is who is going to take them?
The underlying reason for me to take Manhattan over Marist for the 9 spot is simple: Rohrssen brings in talent. Every year he recruits well from the city. One other staple in Rohrssen's teams at Manhattan is their ability to rebound the ball, especially from the offensive end. Manhattan players fly to the glass like bats out of hell, even from the guard position, and you can expect this will continue, regardless of who is doing it.
Andrew Gabriel enters his senior year as a player who has yet to live up to his billing coming out of high school. However with more shots to go around, the crafty power forward is now in a position to have the ball in his hands more often. We will see if new assistant coach (and former NBA player) Scott Padgett can help Gabriel reach his potential as a premier big man in the MAAC. The early success of the Jaspers in the trenches will likely fall on the shoulders of Gabriel. He can only hope one of the newbies is ready to go to battle with him.
Sophomore George Beamon was buried behind senior guards last season, but he could be making the move to Manhattan's next gunner. Beamon average 30 points per game his senior year in high school, and has good size at the two guard spot.
Rohrssen figures to let his string of freshman and junior college transer guards fight it out to see who gets the ball in their hands. Freshman guard Mike Alvarado seems to be the leader early on for the point guard position. Word on the street (or scouting services and all that jumble), is that Manhattan has assembled its strongest recruting class in the Rohressen era. This could be the main reason for Rohrssen opting to stay at Manhattan, rather than run for St. John's as Steve Lavins top recruiter.
The Negatives:
The MAAC is a guards league, no doubt about that. Rohrssen will have to let his recruits learn on the fly, which could be lead to some early bumps and bruises (heck it could lead to a concussion for the Jaspers). None of these pups have played a college game, and guys like Beamon and spot up shooter Nick Walsh didn't even appear in some games last year. Rohrssen will give a long leash on the freshman guards because... Well because he has no other choice. Fairfield's Derek Needham showed last year that a freshman is capable to lead a team to postseason play, but how often do Derek Needham's come around? Not often. Rohressen must hope he has a player or two who can do their best impression of Needham.
Nobody knows if Gabriel will be able to put up consistent numbers in this league. For Manhattan to finish ahead of this prediction, Gabriel, or another big must give the Jaspers 10 to 12 points a game along with 7 to 9 rebounds an outing.
Manhattan will also have to show more team commrodiory than they have in the past. The frontrunning has to stop, and a more even keeled group must be present for the Jaspers to move forward. If not, Rohrssen may be wishing by mid-season that he was wearing red instead of green this season.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
2010-2011 MAAC Basketball Previews: # 10 The Marist Red Foxes
Hello sports fans. I will be continuing a break from my regular blog to give you my predictions for the upcoming 2010-2011 MAAC men's basketball season. Preseason predictions don't amount to much, but I'm already bored of football season, so let the predicting begin! I will begin with an in depth prediction of the last place team, and will conclude this process with an in depth prediction of who I believe will win the MAAC this year. Unlike many magazines and online publications, I will thoroughly give perspective to each team. I will look at what they did last year, and do my best to predict where each team will finish in the league this season. Also unlike those magazines, I am not paid and have nobody to answer to but myself. However I do believe I have some credibility. I have followed the MAAC closely for the past seven years, and played in the MAAC for two years. I also served as a student assistant coach last year at Siena. So here we go folks! Here is to a always competitive and fun season. Cheers!
#10: Marist Red Foxes
Head Coach: Chuck Martin
2009-2010 Record: 1-29
2009-2010 Conference Record: 1-17
It was just a few years back when Marist seemed to be a contender in the league every year. Then Jared Jordan graduated. Then came the Matt Brady exile. Now front man Chuck Martin enters his third year with a record of eleven wins and fifty two losses. The basketball crazed town of Poughkeepsie expects wins, and you can believe that the former Memphis assistant is hungrier than anyone to bring Marist back from the basement to where they are more comfortable and content- the top half of the league. Despite a unique and ever hard to prepare for offensive scheme that Martin has carried over from Memphis, it is still hard to believe that the Red Foxes will catapult to anywhere near where they were when Jared Jordan was doing his best Steve Nash impression.
The Low Down On The Red Foxes:
Martin runs a unique offense that spreads the floor and allows his guards and wings to make decisions. This is hard to prepare for because they do not call out many plays and allow their play makers to make plays based on how the defense is playing them. The theory behind this offensive scheme is maximum penetration to make plays based on this penetration. Many may recall the way John Callipari's teams played at Memphis. Martin will depend on a mix of youth and experience to make decisions and reads that translate into buckets for the Red Foxes.
Red Shirt senior DeJuan Goodwin has been around forever and in that time has shown he can look like an all league player one game, and the next game seem average. Goodwin will need to provide nothing less than a exceptional senior season for the Red Foxes to have a chance to climb out of the basement. Guard R.J. Hall is a junior now, and after a promising rookie season he endured a sophomore slump of academic problems and injuries. However Hall does fit the pedigree of a possible play maker for himself and others. Devin Price also could fit into the playmaker role. Price had a solid freshman season and will likely be taking point guard duties to start the year. Candon Russin is another guard who will be looked upon to take his game to a new level for the Red Foxes. When left open, Russin is a accurate three point shooter. Marist also may turn to younger and unproven players in a group of Freshman guards. Don't sleep on Sophomore Sam Prescott. Prescott appeared in 18 games last year before running into academic trouble. The highly touted guard from Philadelphia averaged 7.5 PPG and showed the ability to rebound out of the guard position.
Down low Martin will rely heavily on Korey Bauer. The 6"9 senior forward has shown ability to be a force in the paint. Bauer will need to be a force every night. He will have to do every inch of the dirty work and more for Marist if they are to make a move. Versatile forward Rob Johnson will have to help Bauer on the glass. If Johnson can do that and provide consistent versatility, Marist will be become even tougher to prepare for.
The Negatives:
There may not be enough talent for Martin's offensive to beat many of the teams in the MAAC. Their guards are either young, and proven to be erratic, or veterans who have struggled to maintain consistancy. For this offensive to work you need great decision makers who can put the ball in the hole, or make a play for another. Marist committed 424 turnovers last year, while only dishing out 296 assits. Time will tell if this group of guards has taken their games to the level it has to be at for Marist.
Marist will also have to drastically improve on the glass. Something that Bauer, Johnson, and a group of freshman big men will have to take upon themselves.
Main Point: Martin's offensive scheme has proven to work in brief flashes in the league, even if it hasn't won him many games. If the Red Fox guards haven't taken steps to take there games to the next level, it may not matter if players like Bauer and Johnson rebound or not. If the Red Foxes are able to generate some excitement early in their OOC schedule the town of Poughkeepsie will be showing up in waves by the time the MAAC schedule roles around. The McCann Center has proven to be one of the toughest places to play in the MAAC when packed to capacity. Marist fans can only hope their returnees are ready to take leaps and bounds from last season, and their freshman are prepared to not play like freshman. If not, it may be another long season for the Red Foxes.
#10: Marist Red Foxes
Head Coach: Chuck Martin
2009-2010 Record: 1-29
2009-2010 Conference Record: 1-17
It was just a few years back when Marist seemed to be a contender in the league every year. Then Jared Jordan graduated. Then came the Matt Brady exile. Now front man Chuck Martin enters his third year with a record of eleven wins and fifty two losses. The basketball crazed town of Poughkeepsie expects wins, and you can believe that the former Memphis assistant is hungrier than anyone to bring Marist back from the basement to where they are more comfortable and content- the top half of the league. Despite a unique and ever hard to prepare for offensive scheme that Martin has carried over from Memphis, it is still hard to believe that the Red Foxes will catapult to anywhere near where they were when Jared Jordan was doing his best Steve Nash impression.
The Low Down On The Red Foxes:
Martin runs a unique offense that spreads the floor and allows his guards and wings to make decisions. This is hard to prepare for because they do not call out many plays and allow their play makers to make plays based on how the defense is playing them. The theory behind this offensive scheme is maximum penetration to make plays based on this penetration. Many may recall the way John Callipari's teams played at Memphis. Martin will depend on a mix of youth and experience to make decisions and reads that translate into buckets for the Red Foxes.
Red Shirt senior DeJuan Goodwin has been around forever and in that time has shown he can look like an all league player one game, and the next game seem average. Goodwin will need to provide nothing less than a exceptional senior season for the Red Foxes to have a chance to climb out of the basement. Guard R.J. Hall is a junior now, and after a promising rookie season he endured a sophomore slump of academic problems and injuries. However Hall does fit the pedigree of a possible play maker for himself and others. Devin Price also could fit into the playmaker role. Price had a solid freshman season and will likely be taking point guard duties to start the year. Candon Russin is another guard who will be looked upon to take his game to a new level for the Red Foxes. When left open, Russin is a accurate three point shooter. Marist also may turn to younger and unproven players in a group of Freshman guards. Don't sleep on Sophomore Sam Prescott. Prescott appeared in 18 games last year before running into academic trouble. The highly touted guard from Philadelphia averaged 7.5 PPG and showed the ability to rebound out of the guard position.
Down low Martin will rely heavily on Korey Bauer. The 6"9 senior forward has shown ability to be a force in the paint. Bauer will need to be a force every night. He will have to do every inch of the dirty work and more for Marist if they are to make a move. Versatile forward Rob Johnson will have to help Bauer on the glass. If Johnson can do that and provide consistent versatility, Marist will be become even tougher to prepare for.
The Negatives:
There may not be enough talent for Martin's offensive to beat many of the teams in the MAAC. Their guards are either young, and proven to be erratic, or veterans who have struggled to maintain consistancy. For this offensive to work you need great decision makers who can put the ball in the hole, or make a play for another. Marist committed 424 turnovers last year, while only dishing out 296 assits. Time will tell if this group of guards has taken their games to the level it has to be at for Marist.
Marist will also have to drastically improve on the glass. Something that Bauer, Johnson, and a group of freshman big men will have to take upon themselves.
Main Point: Martin's offensive scheme has proven to work in brief flashes in the league, even if it hasn't won him many games. If the Red Fox guards haven't taken steps to take there games to the next level, it may not matter if players like Bauer and Johnson rebound or not. If the Red Foxes are able to generate some excitement early in their OOC schedule the town of Poughkeepsie will be showing up in waves by the time the MAAC schedule roles around. The McCann Center has proven to be one of the toughest places to play in the MAAC when packed to capacity. Marist fans can only hope their returnees are ready to take leaps and bounds from last season, and their freshman are prepared to not play like freshman. If not, it may be another long season for the Red Foxes.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Summer is ending, hello fall, goodbye blog world: "And I know because we were kids, and we used to hang."
Leaves are turning brown and gold, and as this heat waves begins to come to an end, it is evident that fall is close in the rear view mirror. Following a two and a half week stint of living out of my car, I have found a place to call home.
My parents were gracious enough to take time out of their busy lives to come to Albany to help me move in. A time frame was set on their short stay here. This meant heavy lifting and maneuvering for myself and my father. This also meant my mother had to do her best Martha Stewart impression in a half a day.
At the end of the day I have a bed and some basic living essentials to live on for now. That is more than can be said for my roommate who sleeps on the floor, and is on the verge of having his big toe removed... But that is another story for another time.
Today is my day off. This means what grown ups call errands is in order for me. Curtains must be purchased. I guess the neighbors are tired of seeing me do my rain dance half naked in my room every evening. Yeah, curtains would be nice gesture.
Everyday I get a little better at selling rugs. I worked a double for the first time in my life yesterday and by 8:00 P.M. I started a mild hallucination. This hallucination lead to believe the rugs were large snakes. I hate snakes.
As myself and the lost children around me continue to settle into the realms of the real world I have gathered some early observations. The world is corrupt people, and we the people is what makes it corrupt. Hell maybe I'm corrupt and I'm to arrogant to realize it. My job isn't so bad, but through horror stories from others make me believe that maybe the best way to get ahead and stay ahead in this world is to be selfish. I'm not ready to turn the corner yet, but you and I both know there is millions of young people who are ready to throw any ounce of childhood purity left into the fire.
So which one will you do? Or has it already been done? Have you turned it all in already to adjust, fit in, and make it? We'll if you have thrown in your cards, shame on you. Maybe shame on me. We all change. Parts of us have to to in order to survive. I understand this. But don't forget how you felt when you were five, or ten, or seventeen, or twenty one. When helping another person, or smiling and saying "How you doing today?" to a stranger. When your whole life wasn't centered around a cooperate paycheck. When making someone else look bad for you to get ahead was either not a option, or made you feel shameful afterwards.
I'm not perfect, far from it. But I'll be up shits creek if I step over. Shits creek sucks. I know I've swam in that creek a few times. You leave smelling bad and with a bad taste in your mouth.
Errands call folks. Blog time is over. I don't have a computer that has Microsoft Word. I'll have to wait for my full time job to start paying some dividends. I'll check my email periodically, but soon Siena will take away my student account. For now I'll write to the endless email requests I have received for hand written blogs, sending them to my avid readers respected addresses (laughing out loud fully intended).
It has been quite an educational summer. A summer that was straining enough to push my hairline back a quarter of an inch. That is fine though, all apart of growing up. My tirade on my early observations of the real world won't come to a surprise to many older readers. However many people are still doing great things while striving for personal ambitions. So those that are doing that, shoot for the stars and "Stay Golden Ponyboy." And to those who have jumped the track to the other side best of luck. Just know when I walk into a supermarket with a backwards hat on and gym shorts and I throw you a smile, and on the receiving end I get the "Look at this idiot" glance, I plan on keeping that smile on. No great loss.
Take care folks. Remember when you were young, and if you still are young, when you grow up, do yourself a favor and remember when you were young.
"If prime time TV and credit card debt, If a new auto lease and real estate investments, Are all that we have, then we're already dead, So let's rob our own graves and sneak out of this pen, And there's only one place where we can escape, And that's on the run, so that's where we'll stay, And we'll leave what we own and we'll leave what we know, But we'll be together so we'll always be home."
A exert from a song by Attica Attica.
My parents were gracious enough to take time out of their busy lives to come to Albany to help me move in. A time frame was set on their short stay here. This meant heavy lifting and maneuvering for myself and my father. This also meant my mother had to do her best Martha Stewart impression in a half a day.
At the end of the day I have a bed and some basic living essentials to live on for now. That is more than can be said for my roommate who sleeps on the floor, and is on the verge of having his big toe removed... But that is another story for another time.
Today is my day off. This means what grown ups call errands is in order for me. Curtains must be purchased. I guess the neighbors are tired of seeing me do my rain dance half naked in my room every evening. Yeah, curtains would be nice gesture.
Everyday I get a little better at selling rugs. I worked a double for the first time in my life yesterday and by 8:00 P.M. I started a mild hallucination. This hallucination lead to believe the rugs were large snakes. I hate snakes.
As myself and the lost children around me continue to settle into the realms of the real world I have gathered some early observations. The world is corrupt people, and we the people is what makes it corrupt. Hell maybe I'm corrupt and I'm to arrogant to realize it. My job isn't so bad, but through horror stories from others make me believe that maybe the best way to get ahead and stay ahead in this world is to be selfish. I'm not ready to turn the corner yet, but you and I both know there is millions of young people who are ready to throw any ounce of childhood purity left into the fire.
So which one will you do? Or has it already been done? Have you turned it all in already to adjust, fit in, and make it? We'll if you have thrown in your cards, shame on you. Maybe shame on me. We all change. Parts of us have to to in order to survive. I understand this. But don't forget how you felt when you were five, or ten, or seventeen, or twenty one. When helping another person, or smiling and saying "How you doing today?" to a stranger. When your whole life wasn't centered around a cooperate paycheck. When making someone else look bad for you to get ahead was either not a option, or made you feel shameful afterwards.
I'm not perfect, far from it. But I'll be up shits creek if I step over. Shits creek sucks. I know I've swam in that creek a few times. You leave smelling bad and with a bad taste in your mouth.
Errands call folks. Blog time is over. I don't have a computer that has Microsoft Word. I'll have to wait for my full time job to start paying some dividends. I'll check my email periodically, but soon Siena will take away my student account. For now I'll write to the endless email requests I have received for hand written blogs, sending them to my avid readers respected addresses (laughing out loud fully intended).
It has been quite an educational summer. A summer that was straining enough to push my hairline back a quarter of an inch. That is fine though, all apart of growing up. My tirade on my early observations of the real world won't come to a surprise to many older readers. However many people are still doing great things while striving for personal ambitions. So those that are doing that, shoot for the stars and "Stay Golden Ponyboy." And to those who have jumped the track to the other side best of luck. Just know when I walk into a supermarket with a backwards hat on and gym shorts and I throw you a smile, and on the receiving end I get the "Look at this idiot" glance, I plan on keeping that smile on. No great loss.
Take care folks. Remember when you were young, and if you still are young, when you grow up, do yourself a favor and remember when you were young.
"If prime time TV and credit card debt, If a new auto lease and real estate investments, Are all that we have, then we're already dead, So let's rob our own graves and sneak out of this pen, And there's only one place where we can escape, And that's on the run, so that's where we'll stay, And we'll leave what we own and we'll leave what we know, But we'll be together so we'll always be home."
A exert from a song by Attica Attica.
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