Good point 86,but remember good guard play is always key in the maac,size is always a bigger must in the major conferences.
The MAAC is traditionally a guard league but that is because athletic/skilled bigs are not common. This year a couple of the teams have depth at the 4/5.
Monmouth has Chris Brady, Zac Tillman, Diago Quinn (PF/C) and Pierre Sarr (SF/PF). Brady and Tillman are what they are but if Quinn and Sarr make any improvement at all they would have the deepest team at the 4 and 5 . They also have Mustapha Traore available this season. In prep he went head to head with Kalif Young (6'9" Providence ) and Thon Maker (7'1" Bucks) and held his own. Regarding their guards, Justin Robinson, Micah Seaborn, Je'lon Hornbeak, Josh James and Collin Stewart are near the top of the league in quality and depth. As much as they will miss Deon Jones, I think that the potential improved play of Quinn and Sarr will more than make up for his loss.
Siena does not have our depth at guard but they will be better with Wright back as well as Nico Clareth having a season under his belt. I think they will have some chemistry issues but we will see. Kadeem Smithen will be a reliable backup for those two and after that they are thin. Their depth in the paint is very good with Bisping, JO, Long and Brandwijk who will be a stretch four. I think Siena will go as far as Lavon Long goes and if the team can stick together. They also have home floor advantage.
I think we can replace our scoring lost to graduation but we need to replace three of our top rebounders in IW (6.9), Rountree (5.2) and AJ (5.0)... if we had Mitchell or Allan I would be more confident. I think Jahyde Gardner will fill some of IW's role and Tyrell Williams has the skills to fill in much of AR's role... he looks like a better interior defender but I question if he has AR's lateral speed. He might be a bigger offensive plus as he cleans up really well off the glass. Jan Svandrlik is a skilled player but I will have to be convinced he can rebound as that was not his thing in JUCO. With that said he did not need to assume that role at Indian Hills because he played with people like JW, Emmitt Holt (Providence), Nuni Omot (Baylor), Akolda Manyang (Oklahoma), Malik Dime (Washington) and Tre'Darius McCallum (Depaul)... maybe he will be a surprise and our breakout player of the year? McGill, Much, Casimir, Severe, Cassell, Crawford and Turner... If everyone is as good as advertised, it could be the deepest 1 thru 3 I have seen in the MAAC in a long time. We need to put it together and leaders need to step up and assume that role.
Monmouth has the least chemistry issues as they return last years team for the most part. They should easily be the projected top team. Can we beat them... sure, but the team needs to gel and players need to assume roles they may not be used to for this team to reach it's potential. Leadership is key.
IONA86, great take. There are two things about Iona that you posted, one that I agree with, and one I disagree with. I agree about Svandirk. To me he looks like a great SF, but, of necessity, we'll play him at PF. And rebounding is a big question mark. Where I disagree is about Tyrell Williams. He is a good "down low" player, but doesn't compare to AR in either game or body type. Just a different type of player. However, with his weight loss, I think JW compares closer to AR, but more like David Laurey. My hope, fingers crossed, is that Jehyde Gardiner becomes a good PF for us, as he seems more comfortable in that role.
The Women's OOC schedule is out , with an article on the Official Iona site. It's a great sked, with five home OOC games. Four A 10 teams, including Fordham. Penn State from the Big 10, along with Navy and an opener against Stoney Brook. Congrats to Coach Godsey and Coach Kelley.
IONA86, great take. There are two things about Iona that you posted, one that I agree with, and one I disagree with. I agree about Svandirk. To me he looks like a great SF, but, of necessity, we'll play him at PF. And rebounding is a big question mark. Where I disagree is about Tyrell Williams. He is a good "down low" player, but doesn't compare to AR in either game or body type. Just a different type of player. However, with his weight loss, I think JW compares closer to AR, but more like David Laurey. My hope, fingers crossed, is that Jehyde Gardiner becomes a good PF for us, as he seems more comfortable in that role.
My comparison between Tyrell Williams and AR had nothing to do with their body types or even their overall abilities. AR's biggest contribution was his defensive skills... he led the team in steals and blocks while being able to cover opponents at the 3 and 4. Where I see Williams filling part of AR's shoes is in his ability to block shots and I think you will see that he is an improvement over AR off the defensive boards. AR had a sneaky quickness in his step and long arms that helped with the blocks... TW seems to have very good timing and closes the gap with shooters well.
In HS and JUCO Williams scored a lot of garbage points and has a better scoring percentage than AR did...last year both AR and JW missed a ton of bunnies. With that said AR is a much better passer. AR's length and wingspan helped defensively... I think TW can be very effective in using his physicality to be a presence in the paint. I think he is quick enough in closing the gap with a shooter who is playing the stretch 4 but I do not see him possessing the lateral quickness to guard smaller players at the 3 like AR did. Different players, different body types, different skills... but I think that TW can bring valuable defensive skills that can be just as valuable as AR brought... but he will have to focus on that like AR was willing to do.
86, I guess I misunderstood your initial post. Now reading that they have different body types (in football terms, to me, one is a DT and one a DE) I can better understand your opinion. And I saw TW in July, and I'm hoping that come November, he'll be in TC shape, and able to play defense the way he did in the video.
Good point 86,but remember good guard play is always key in the maac,size is always a bigger must in the major conferences.
The MAAC is traditionally a guard league but that is because athletic/skilled bigs are not common. This year a couple of the teams have depth at the 4/5.
Monmouth has Chris Brady, Zac Tillman, Diago Quinn (PF/C) and Pierre Sarr (SF/PF). Brady and Tillman are what they are but if Quinn and Sarr make any improvement at all they would have the deepest team at the 4 and 5 . They also have Mustapha Traore available this season. In prep he went head to head with Kalif Young (6'9" Providence ) and Thon Maker (7'1" Bucks) and held his own. Regarding their guards, Justin Robinson, Micah Seaborn, Je'lon Hornbeak, Josh James and Collin Stewart are near the top of the league in quality and depth. As much as they will miss Deon Jones, I think that the potential improved play of Quinn and Sarr will more than make up for his loss.
Siena does not have our depth at guard but they will be better with Wright back as well as Nico Clareth having a season under his belt. I think they will have some chemistry issues but we will see. Kadeem Smithen will be a reliable backup for those two and after that they are thin. Their depth in the paint is very good with Bisping, JO, Long and Brandwijk who will be a stretch four. I think Siena will go as far as Lavon Long goes and if the team can stick together. They also have home floor advantage.
I think we can replace our scoring lost to graduation but we need to replace three of our top rebounders in IW (6.9), Rountree (5.2) and AJ (5.0)... if we had Mitchell or Allan I would be more confident. I think Jahyde Gardner will fill some of IW's role and Tyrell Williams has the skills to fill in much of AR's role... he looks like a better interior defender but I question if he has AR's lateral speed. He might be a bigger offensive plus as he cleans up really well off the glass. Jan Svandrlik is a skilled player but I will have to be convinced he can rebound as that was not his thing in JUCO. With that said he did not need to assume that role at Indian Hills because he played with people like JW, Emmitt Holt (Providence), Nuni Omot (Baylor), Akolda Manyang (Oklahoma), Malik Dime (Washington) and Tre'Darius McCallum (Depaul)... maybe he will be a surprise and our breakout player of the year? McGill, Much, Casimir, Severe, Cassell, Crawford and Turner... If everyone is as good as advertised, it could be the deepest 1 thru 3 I have seen in the MAAC in a long time. We need to put it together and leaders need to step up and assume that role.
Monmouth has the least chemistry issues as they return last years team for the most part. They should easily be the projected top team. Can we beat them... sure, but the team needs to gel and players need to assume roles they may not be used to for this team to reach it's potential. Leadership is key.
was looking at Monmouth's website and noticed that incoming freshman Ray Salnave was not listed on their roster. He had BCS offers a couple of years ago, but his game slipped a little and ended up signing a LOI with Monmouth. Verbal commits even has Iona offering a scholarship, though I remember there was some doubt TC actually offered him a scholarship. Have you heard anything about him? Could turn out to be a pretty good MAAC player
was looking at Monmouth's website and noticed that incoming freshman Ray Salnave was not listed on their roster. He had BCS offers a couple of years ago, but his game slipped a little and ended up signing a LOI with Monmouth. Verbal commits even has Iona offering a scholarship, though I remember there was some doubt TC actually offered him a scholarship. Have you heard anything about him? Could turn out to be a pretty good MAAC player
Sharkey... that is a bit strange but I have not heard anything. He stated on twitter that his move in date was a week from the 29th so I assume he is still attending Monmouth... I wonder if they are going to redshirt him or if he has not passed the clearinghouse yet.
it is my understanding that we has offered him but once Crawford committed that offer was off the table. Salnave listed his final choices as Rutgers , Iona , Monmouth & Seton Hall but the media leaked that we were no longer interested. It is my understanding that Crawford was always our top target. d
Crawford committed Sep 21, 2015. Ray Salnave committed to Monmouth on Oct 1, 2015.