Patch

From Hoopmasters.........

Blake Hoffarber, a 6-foot-3 junior guard from Minnetonka (MN) Hopkins, has led the Royals to consecutive state championships and is one of the top outside shooters in the country. Hoffarber told Hoopmasters.com that he has added four new offers.

 

Hoffarber had received scholarship offers from Wisconsin-Green Bay, Loyola of Chicago and Furman before the spring and has added offers from William and Mary, Albany and will get offers from Rice and Bucknell in September once his academic paperwork is received. Hoffarber is an excellent student with a 3.91 GPA. Minnesota, where is older sister and brother are currently attending has meet with Hoffarber about walking on for a year and then having a scholarship for the final four years. Minnesota currently has 12 players on scholarship and has commitment from from Hoffarber's AAU teammate Al Nolen Jr.

 

Hoffarber took an unoffical visit to Wake Forest while playing in the Tournament of Champions tournament last weekend.........

It seems that the coaching staff is working not only to find good players but good Students.

The Crown Jewel is alive and well thank you. - MTS

MTS your lunacy is exactly why I love to read Siena posts.

Maryland is an NIT ACC team which says alot.

Stanford is a 15-13 team with 11 of its wins coming against teams with worse RPIs then UA.

They are historically great names but not great programs right now.

It's good to balance it with NJIT not once but twice.

Remember the self proclaimed "Crown Jewel" is a mid level MAAC program for the last 5 years.

Enjoy paying for those great seats at the Pepsi echo chamber when 2/3 of the home games are bout 1/3 of capacity.

Just pay attention to what visiting team will put the most fannies in the seasts at the Pepsi again this season????

I'm sure he visited the campus a few times.

I'd love to hear him explain his relationship(s) at/with the college. That would truly be a fun read.

He couldn't have taken Logic.

Business and finance are definitely out, for obvious reasons, right D96.

I doubt he majored in english.

Isn't it a "PRIVATE" Liberal Arts College?????????

Maybe one of our Siena voyeurs could tell us his story and explain Tony's relationship(s) at Siena College.

To be continued "As Tony's World Turns" PartII coming soon to a local theatre in Loudonville.

Hey, actually Tony's fine - it doesn't matter if he went to Siena or not. He's a loyal Siena fan who likes to stir things up and cause a commotion. I take what he says with a grain of salt and I appreciate that he's passionate about his saints.

Guys, I hope you don't take Tony and the people on the Siena board too seriously.

Read their site for its comical aspects. remember the Saint Fans are very frustrated being a middle of the pack MAAC team when they think they should be the "Crown Jewel of the MAAC or the Gonzaga of the East".

And whatever Siena Tony says or states take it with a grain of salt, he love his Saints so much that he'll bend the truth and preach to the uninformed with half truths and some outright lies like Yocum is 6'6".

He continually uses Hoopscoop to substantiate his info and when Hoopscoop proves him wrong he knocks the site.

We play Siena once a year and it's never at the RACC so it's always a road game.

They'll play NJIT at NJIT but won't dare come to the RACC.

NYR - That would be fine but Bing and most other AE schools and/or other DI schools in general have some common sense and logic - with Siena it's anal sensitivity from sitting too long on their brains.

It's amazing how great they are in their own minds. Since the turn of the century(the 00/01 season) they have been mediocre at best in their conference.

They are even considered a joke on the MAAC board and the sMAAC board.

Hey, I find it fun to read their site and joke about it here but I'd much rather talk serious sports but they are just so condescending and such easy targets.

Who is hosting the prestigious MAAC/ESPN exempt event - Marist not the "Crown Jewel".

The MAAC/Siena exempt event - couldn't get 8 teams - couldn't get 6 teams - they couldn't even get one team other then themselves to commit. Just imagine if they didn't have all the inherent advantages that they have - like a great fan base, the Pepsi and a tremendous tradition.

But, I am sure they'll fill the house for NJIT with a crowd that is so noiseless you'll be able to hear the ball bounce in that 1/3 filled echo chamber.

It's summer and until football and the other fall sports start up there is little to talk about except our obnoxious neighbors in the suburbs.

Siena Tony is just the most amusing fool around he speaks out of both sides of his mouth and thinks no one can counter his non sense.

Lets call a spade a spade here, the Gillford is not rated in the top 1000 players by hoopscoop. He avg like 12 points a game in a crappy Missouri league.  I don't wanna hear about no shot clock, he was not dominant.  Albany took a chance  on this kid, maybe he works out maybe he doesn’t he is far and I mean far from a lock.. Albany fans all gushed about Dyson also... and we all know how that worked out

 

Albany has some big question marks next season losing Zo, Lu and Levine  (  3 of their best 5 or 6 players)  Since Albany has trouble recruiting quality kids from the east ( given their low stature) Will Brown took chances on unknown kids and JuCo’s, if it doesn't work out  Albany will take a step backward this season - Tony

Tony uses Hoopscoop when it benefits his train of thought, Lets look at the top recruiting classes per Tony's Hoopscoop

71.    ALBANY (14 Points)..........5 Recruits..........2.6 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit..........America East Conference..........(3) Brett Gifford, 6'11, C, Rock Bridge (H.S.) MO; (3) Mike Yocum, 6'8, C, Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA; (3) Carl Ross, 6'4, 2G, San Joaquin Delta (JC) CA; (3) Michael Knight, 6'3, 2G, St. Petersburg (JC) FL; (2) Reid Anderson, 6'5, 2G, Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH.

 

129.    SIENA (9 Points)..........4 Recruits..........2.3 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit..........Metro Atlantic Conference..........(3) Edwin Ubiles, 6'6, WF, Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT; (2) James Carr, 6'10, C, Bronx (Wings) NY; (2) Alex Franklin, 6'5, WF, Reading (Central Catholic) PA; (2) Ronald Moore, 6'0, PG, Plymouth Meeting (Plymouth Whitemarsh) PA.

Now realize Siena's Magee is not listed yeth he'll be either a tow or a three.

At this time UA has 5 recruits for 14points or 2.8 avg per recruit (not the 2.6 stated). Hoopscoop has a problem with simple math too, Siena avg 2.3 per recruit.

But it appears [b}Hoopscoop rates FOUR (4) UA recruits as threes (including Gifford) [/b]and only ONE Siena recruit rates a three.

Tony eat your Hoopscoop words - Coach Brown recruits good players where ever he can find them.

Therefore Gifford, Yocum, Ross and Knight are rated at the same level as the world top Siena recruit.

A foul is a foul is a foul no matter when it occurs!

No foul was called therefore no foul occurred.

Siena won in OT, they are the victors, they have the bragging rights.

From Siena Tony's favorite Hoopscoop

126.    SIENA (9 Points)..........4 Recruits..........2.3 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit

If you add Magee who should be rated a 3 - gives Siena 5 recuits for a total of 12points and a 2.4 avg.

12 points should move siena up to 85

70.    ALBANY (14 Points)..........5 Recruits..........2.6 Talent Rating Average Per Recruit

actually if you do the math 14 points 5 recruits = 2.8 Talent rating avg

Wasn't it Tony who stated with all Siena's inherent advantages UA would never be able to compete with them for recruits. I think we may be holding our own.

Of course don't put too much weight on what Hoopscoop says they do just about everything by hearsay.

No one knows what they're getting until the games start, not even UA.

On paper it seems we're doing ok!!!

Have no fear.....

Whatever happens, if there is a MAAC exempt at the pepsi or not.......

The Siena faithful will spin it so that it came out just the way they intended it all along and Siena will benefit from the wise decisions of their AD and coach.

Maybee they'll host a two team tourney with NJIT.

Can't happen anytime soon.

The RACC is a multi purpose facility used for track and other events including being rented out for AAU events.

It's important not to limit it to just a Basketball game facility unless another multi purpose facility is built which I don't see happening for a LONG TIME.

Siena AD in the TU.........

"If we got four teams 100 percent behind it, we could find two more. You need to be able to go to people and say, 'These are four teams that are in it.' Nobody wants to be first in the pool because they're worried the water's too cold."

It looks like it was a good move by UA not to get involved in the MAAC/Siena exempt event. They can't even get 6 teams when they originally sought eight teams.

Besides the chair backs the next thing that should be done is to connect the RACC and the Phys Ed building.

Build a Large concession area (much like Stony Brooks). It would also allow us to have a much bigger Lobby for ticket sales, an athletic store area for T Shirts, hats etal , increase the the amount of bathroom facilities etc.

A few notes from Hoopscoop on Howard Little due to arrive in 2007....

Arizona Cactus Classic in Tucson, AZ...........Also playing well during the course of the weekend were 6'7 Jr Tyrone Shelley from San Diego (Crawford) CA, 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 5'10 Jr Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX, 6'8 Jr Brandon McGee from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'3 Seketoure Henry from Lenoir (Patterson School) NC, 6'8 Soph Troy Gillenwater from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, 6'4 Jr Steven Gray from Port Hadlock (Bainbridge) WA.  6'7 Jr Morgan Grim from Riverton (H.S.) UT, 6'7 Jr Brady Hurst from Katysville (Davis) UT, 6'9 Soph Ben Aird from Boundiful (H.S.) UT, 7'1 Jr Solomon Alibi from Montverde (Academy) FL, 5'9 Jr Aaron Johnson from Chicago (Hubbard) IL, 6'4 Howard Little from Olympia Fields (Rich Central) IL, 6'6 Jr Mike Singletary from Houston (Kingwood) TX, 6'4 Jr Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'7 Jr Morgan Grim from Riverton (H.S.) UT 6'7 Jr Brady Hurst from Katysville (Davis) UT, 6'9 Soph Ben Aird from Boundiful (H.S.) UT, 6'4 Jr Tyler Strong from South Jordan (Bingham) UT, 6'3 Jr Nate Mensah from Salt Lake City (West) UT, and 6'0 Jr Nick Martinwau from Kaysville (Davis) UT...............Little was one of the better 3-point shooters in the tournament.

It will be nice if he follows through as planned and signs with UA during the early signing period.

The problem isn't getting a game .......

it's getting a home game!!!!!

Isn't it great that the Siena board not having little or anything to say about their team has chosen to tell us and themselves of how our not being in the MAAC/Siena exempt tourney is a mistake or some remote sign of fear or weakness.

They just can't handle the fact that for whatever reason we chose not to participate in their tourney.

At this late date they can't even definitely name the entire field. I hope they know if it is going to be a 6 or an 8 team field. If it is a six team field it is that way only because they couldn't draw 8 teams.

You would think that they would be able to talk about their Siena team, instead they are preoccupied by the Danes a team that has actually only had a full DI roster for 2 seasons.

They must feel threatened by the Danes who have won more total games and conference games the past 2 seasons then they have. It's the Danes who have an avg RPI of the last 2 seasons which is more than 50 points lower then Siena's (UA 157/Siena211).

It's the Danes who have won their conference, their conference tourney and has made an NCAA appearance.

I guess that's enough to have our neighbors seek ways to find faults with UA and also find ways to prove to themselves that they still are the "Crown Jewel".

Maybe they're the "Crown Jewel" of Loudonville??????

Rumors, rumors, rumors..........

unless there are contract problems we don't know about.

For Brown being an Associate Head Coach in the Big East for an annual top 20 program would probably be a short cut to a much bigger job.

Being his own boss may be more intriguing to him and allows him to build a reputation as a Head Coach and a program builder.

In my opinion Brown is here unless there were problems finalizing the contract which we have not heard about.

From Hoopscoop.......

Anderson, who was the most versatile player and second leading scorer on a team that featured 6'8 Jr Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edward) OH, and Ross, who was a First Team All Bay Seven Conference Selection, as well as the Defensive Player-of-the-Year in the league, round an excellent recruiting class for Albany.  If you will recall, Great Danes head coach Will Brown already had landed 6'11 Brett Guilford from Rock Bridge (H.S.) MO and 6'8 Mike Yokum from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who promise to be two of the best big men in the league next year, and 6'3 Michael Knight from St. Petersburg (JC) FL, who was the leading 3-pointer with 91 treys in the Florida junior college ranks this past season.  Speaking of Albany, they also got a verbal commitment a week ago from 6'4 Howard Little from Olympia Fields (Rich Central) IL, who is versatile enough to beat you with outside shooting and ability to the get to the basket.  However, they will have to wait a year to get this one, because Little is supposed to go the prep school route to Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA next year and, as a result, he gives Albany a head start on the Class of 2007.

Can someone explain the two (2) illegal pitches that were called in the 1st inning which put UMass's 1st runner on base and then allowed the Homerun to even happen without those calls two runs would not have scored in the 1st inning.

I've seen UA play several times and never saw an illegal pitch called on Halloran.

Gorvy,

I believe your thought process is sound but in UA's case I think they are almost mandated to play atleast 2 money games to help ease the overall cost of running the program.

Remember UA is still in its infancy in DI Hoops, a couple of solid seasons, an improved fan base, more sponsorships and the thought process may change.

I would believe top 30 teams pay significantly more the top 50+ teams. This is still a business a true money driven business. Also UA is trying desperately to develop name recognition and having the Big Names on the schedule does draw the attention of some recruits.

Thanks for your responses.

Gorvy - thanks for the info, but let me ask some other questions.....

1. Can a Conference sponsor more then one exempt tourney a year. I would guess the answer is yes if the Saints are still working to host one?

2. I believe our RPI was hurt more by our in conference teams then by our OOC schedule. In fact Siena's RPI was improved greatly by losses to in conference teams, I think you guys went 2-7 against teams with 127 or less RPIs (in conference) and then another game that was scheduled for you was the bracketbuster where you drew Hofstra. So do you really believe OOC schedule that you guys put together was that important to your RPI?

Your input is appreciated.

I guess Marist is the new "Standard of the MAAC" or the new "Crown Jewel"....

From Newsday....

ESPN, MAAC to Start Thanksgiving Tourney

 

Associated Press

 

May 18, 2006, 11:35 AM EDT

 

BRISTOL, Conn. -- West Virginia, which reached the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament last season, headlines the eight-team field for the inaugural ESPNU Classic to be played Thanksgiving weekend at Orlando, Fla.

 

Three other teams from last season's NCAA field of 65 -- Arkansas, Montana and Southern Illinois -- are also in the field for the tournament, which was announced Thursday by ESPN Regional Television, which will own and operate the event, and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, the sponsoring conference.

 

The other teams in the field are Marist, Minnesota, Virginia Tech and Western Michigan.

 

The tournament will be held Nov. 23-25 at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex. ESPN Regional Television owns and operates three other basketball events -- the O'Reilly Auto Parts All-College Classic, Pape Jam and the Spartan Clash.

UAlbany balks at Siena's Pepsi event-TU

I love the TU - their headline make it sound like UA was complaining or did something inappropriate. When it was Siena/MAAC being very slow getting their ducks in a row.

Coach Brown saying that UA can't work into their schedule because they have already contracted games is not BALKING it's stating facts. It sounds like the Siena beat writer is trying to place some of the blame for this Exempt Tourney having scheduling problems on UA instead of on Siena.

Originally (a while back) Brown in the TU said in theory the tourney was a good idea but because of scheduling maybe they should hold off until next season so Siena shouldn't be surprised at UA's current situation.

Why don't they invite NJIT and just don't schedule them against Siena unless Siena wants to play them a possible three times.

Maybe D'Argenio should take some heat. He ought to work on learning how to be an AD. It's evident he having a hard time running a primarily one sport program.

It's hard to expect people to commit to a Tourney when their is no idea who will be in it and when schedules are primarily made well in advance it's hard for schools to change dates and find new dates for prescheduled/contracted OOC games.

I'm sure Coach McCaffrey is having major scheduling problems because he has games he needs and can't commit to dates because he may or may not be hosting an exempt tourney.

When they do get a field of teams it should be interesting how they are paired being it is not a true Championship Tourney Format.

Prior to this season - from Stat Hoops (Illinois) TOP 21-40 JUNIORS (2006)

25. Howard Little-6-4- Rich Central- Warriors

 

Previous Ranking: 23

 

            Howard has a great all around type game.  He rebounds, boxes out, hustles, and does all the little things that make him good.  A decent offensive player, he is even better defensively.  Howard recently transferred to Rich Central HS and it will be interesting to watch him this year.

 

Passing: A-

 

Ball Handling: A-

 

Shooting: A-

 

Rebounding: A

 

Defense: A

 

Knowledge: A+

 

Quickness: B

 

Strength : A-

 

Overall: A

Might not be garbage.

Jay Wright came from Hofstra and played Stony Brook when they were starting up.

Wright also worked for Rollie Massamino at Villanove and Rollie was a head Coach at Stony Brook (DIII).

Jay has alot of ties to LI and the Brook.

It's hard to believe but not to outrageous. I'm sure somehow there is a benefit in it for Nova. They may get a small payday and the game doesn't affect RPI much because it's a road win.

I find this shocking.

With all the advantages Siena has including playing at the Knick/Pepsi/TUC I would think that teams would be begging them for games.

Some in the know (?) on the Siena site were even throwing around things like the Big East, the CAA and the A10 being willing participants and how UA would be foolish not to be involved this tourney would surely help the UA RPI because of all the 150 and better teams which would participate. They also talked that the MAAC had "COMMITMENTS" from conferences. I guess the word commitment has a different definition on certain sites.

I guess the know it alls don't know it all.

They'll probably tell us that now it's good the tourney didn't work out because now they'll only have to play NJIT once because if this report is true the UA game now counts as a regular game and not one that is included in the exempt tourney packages.

It's amazing with all the greatness of Siena & the MAAC how come other conferences are able to fill their exempt tourney fields?

OH Well life goes on.