MAAC

MAAC Basketball Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:49:03 -0500

The MAAC race should be quite exciting with Niagara, Rider, and Siena all legitimately pushing for the conference title. Expect all three to consistently appear in mid-major rankings.

Conference Rank: 15th

10 year average: 17th

MAAC Conference Page

All-MAAC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Ronald Moore	Siena	Sr
G	Tyrone Lewis	Niagara	Sr
G/F	Ryan Thompson	Rider	Sr
F	Edwin Ubiles	Siena	Sr
F	Bilal Benn	Niagara	Sr

Player of the Year - Ryan Thompson Freshman of the Year - Derek Needham (Fairfield)
CHN Award Winners		Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Ryan Thompson (3rd Team) Edwin Ubiles (3rd) Tyrone Lewis		Best Scorer Ryan Thompson Best Rebounder Bilal Benn Assists: Ronald Moore

MAAC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

34	Siena	MAAC	1	NCAA
65	Niagara	MAAC	2	NIT
84	Rider	MAAC	3	CBI/CIT
143	Fairfield	MAAC	4
182	Manhattan	MAAC	5
209	St. Peter's	MAAC	6
214	Iona	MAAC	7
227	Loyola Md	MAAC	8
259	Canisius	MAAC	9
287	Marist	MAAC	10

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the MAAC?

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Poll: Best Non-BCS Conference in 2009-10?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:05:41 -0500

Poll: Who Will Win the MAAC?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:54:04 -0400

Siena Basketball Preview: #34

Joel Welser — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 14:58:59 -0400

Overall Rank: #34

Conference Rank: #1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference

2008-09: 27-8, 16-2

2008-09 postseason: NCAA

Coach: Fran McCaffery (85-44 at Siena, 224-171 overall)

Coach Fran McCaffery has done great things with Siena. Two years ago it was Vanderbilt who felt the wrath of the Saints and last year it was Ohio State, in Ohio. This is a team that knows how to win in the NCAA Tournament and a team that should have little trouble getting there. The 2009-2010 version of the Saints might be the strongest yet and that means they're capable of winning a game or two in March.

Key Losses: G Kenny Hasbrouck

Key Newcomers:

Siena does not need much depth, but they could certainly use some under the basket. The addition of O.D. Anosike and Davis Martens will provide that. Anosike needs to add more strength before he will be a dominating force in the paint, but he can at least provide a body off the bench. Martens, at 6-9 and 220 pounds, is capable of competing right away, but he will not be eligible until late December. Add point guard Jonathan Breeden, combo guard Denzel Yard and La Salle transfer Kyle Griffin, who are all capable of contributing this year, and the future looks as promising as the present.

Backcourt:

Siena will certainly miss Kenny Hasbrouck, but it is not like this team does not have other scorers on the perimeter. Wing Edwin Ubiles led the team with 15.0 points per game and added 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks. If there is anything the Saints need done, Ubiles can do it. Ronald Moore will once again be the distributor. Moore did a superb job last season finding the scorers on the team by dishing out 6.4 assists and only turning the ball over 2.2 times per contest. Moore is even a capable scorer who can keep the defense honest with his outside shooting ability. This might be Ubiles’ team, but Moore, now a senior, is the leader on the floor.

Frontcourt:

Like the backcourt, the frontcourt returns two experienced and productive starters. Alex Franklin has emerged as a solid power forward and ranked third on the team with 13.6 points per game during the 2008-2009 campaign. Franklin’s range is pretty limited, but unlike fellow forward Ryan Rossiter, he can handle the ball outside of the paint on occasion. Rossiter is the team’s leading rebounder and shot blocker and has become a menace to opposing forwards in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Association on both sides of the floor. After averaging 10.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per contest a season ago, big things are expected for Rossiter’s junior campaign. However, thanks to the newly found depth, do not be surprised if Franklin and Rossiter’s numbers suffer a little bit now that they will not be forced to play 30 minutes per game.

Who to Watch:

Can Clarence Jackson replace Hasbrouck? Given the opportunity Jackson should be a fine outside shooter and give this team its main long range threat, but Jackson will not get to the basket as effectively as Hasbrouck did during his career at Siena. If Jackson, a 6-3 junior, can become more aggressive, he could be a consistent double digit scorer. The other players to keep an eye on are a couple of sophomores who showed a little potential last season. Guard Kyle Downey and small forward Owen Wignot both averaged about ten minutes per game as freshmen and they both need to provide Siena with some depth.

Final Projection:

If Downey or Wignot can turn into the offensive spark off the bench that Jackson provided last year, the backcourt will be in great shape even without Hasbrouck. And the frontcourt will be even better this time around and they have already proven that they can compete with just about anybody in the nation. The MAAC has some other good teams, but Siena should once again dominate the league and maybe even be favored to win a game in the NCAA Tournament.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Ronald Moore, Senior, Guard, 8.7 points per game

Clarence Jackson, Junior, Guard, 8.3 points per game

Edwin Ubiles, Senior, Guard, 15.0 points per game

Alex Franklin, Senior, Forward, 13.6 points per game

Ryan Rossiter, Junior, Forward, 10.0 points per game

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College Basketball: Preseason Conference Ranking

CHN — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:43:04 -0400

After finishing 1st in the RPI the last two years, the ACC should fall back slightly thanks to the big-name departures at UNC & Wake Forest. This should allow one of the Big 12, Big Ten, or even SEC a shot at being #1. The Pac-10 is weak enough that a high-major like the A-10, MVC, or MWC could surpass it.

Chime in with your thoughts below if you agree or disagree with CHN's preseason conference ranking.

2009-10 Conference Ranking

*08-09 is last year's conference RPI. Commentary by Shawn Siegel, ranking by CHN.

	Conference	08-09*
1	Big Ten 9 of 11 teams go into season with ncaa hopes, and as many as 7 may reach that goal	2
2	Big 12 ku is the clear title contender. the bottom few teams are weak though and the middle-tier is hit or miss	3
3	ACC no dominant team like last year, but solid as always.	1
4	SEC rise of uk brings league back to prominence after down year..	6
5	Big East lose tons of big name players, and still held down by likes of depual, rutgers, etc	4
6	Pac-10 conceivable the pac-10 only receives 3 tourney bids.	5
7	Atlantic 10 should get at least 2 invites to the ncaa tournament	8
8	MVC with improvement expected from usual leaders creighton & siu, mvc should be solid all-around	9
9	MWC just about every top team loses a top player, but mwc should be one of the more entertaining leagues	7
10	Conference USA though memphis takes step back, rest of league is better than usual.	10
11	WAC after some down years, wac will once again be compeititve league	11
12	Horizon butler has top 10 hopes, but squads like csu and green bay lose key seniors.	12
13	Colonial while still 1 bid league, likes of odu, n'eastern, gmu, and vcu are all quality	14
14	Sun Belt more then just wku, the entire east division is solid	17
15	MAAC siena, niagara, and rider all have postseason hopes	13
16	WCC gonzaga and smc both worse then season ago	15
17	MAC #'s should be better than last year, but west division still a struggle	21
18	Big West led by up-and-coming long beach state. always finish around this #.	18
19	Summit darling ndsu loses a lot, so usual contenders like oru and oakland should be at forefront again	26
20	Big Sky with exception of sacramento st, this is a solid league top to bottom.	24
21	Southland underrated league always good for some non-conference upsets	19
22	Ivy cornell will be the best the ivy has offered in quite some years	29
23	Southern steph curry's departure opens up door for charleston	20
24	America East decimation of binghamton will hurt league #'s	16
25	Atlantic Sun the league's upper half is as solid as it's been for a few years	27
26	Patriot could use a rebound from former top gun bucknell.	22
27	OVC morehead st continues its improbable rise..	23
28	Big South outside of radford, not much to get excited about here..	25
29	NEC nec hasn't had much going for it in recent years	28
30	MEAC as usual, will battle swac for title of country's worst	30
31	SWAC solid jackson st gives swac hope of surpassing meac	31

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Niagara Basketball Preview: #65

Joel Welser — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:05:19 -0400

Overall Rank: #65

Conference Rank: #2 MAAC

2008-09: 26-9, 14-4

2008-09 postseason: NIT

Coach: Joe Mihalich (205-132 at Niagara, 205-132 overall)

For winning 26 games, Niagara had a pretty quiet season that ended with a first round loss to Rhode Island in the NIT. The reason for the lack of respect was because Metro Atlantic rival Siena was garnering all the national attention. Yet, the Purple Eagles will have another chance to unseat Siena atop the conference pecking order.

Key Losses: C Benson Egemonye

Key Newcomers:

Niagara pretty much ran a four guard lineup with Benson Egemonye in the middle and now Egemonye is gone. Thus, the newcomers will have to help fill that void and Coach Joe Mihalich has a few decent options. Scooter Gillette, Luuk Kortekaas and Eric Williams are all big men who must be ready to play as freshmen. Gillette might be the most talented, but Williams and Kortekaas were at least on the sidelines last year and have a year in the system.

Backcourt:

Few teams have as much experience on the perimeter as Niagara. It all starts with junior point guard Anthony Nelson. Not only did he dish out 5.5 assists per game and only turned it over 2.1 times, Nelson also tallied 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Rob Garrison is another quality ball handler who can score in a multitude of ways. He might take a few too many outside shots, but Garrison has a great mid-range game and should once again eclipse the ten point per game mark. However, it is Tyrone Lewis who is the pure scorer on this team. Lewis connected on nearly three three-pointers per game last season and the 5-11 guard should be in for a huge senior season.

Frontcourt:

The biggest question is who is going to replace Egemonye? Demetrius Williamson won the conference’s sixth man award last year after averaging 7.6 points and 3.0 rebounds. But at 6-6 and 195 pounds, he is not exactly the type of player you want creating space under the basket. Kashief Edwards is only 6-5, so he will only provide depth at the forward spots and not under the basket. Kamau Gordon could be the answer. At 6-7 and 260 pounds, the senior has the size and the experience to be a decent player under the basket, but he only averaged 8.1 minutes per game last year and will need help from the newcomers.

Who to Watch:

It is the skills of Bilal Benn that allowed the Purple Eagles to play small last year. Benn is only 6-5, but he simply dominated the glass with his 9.3 rebounds per game. He is also a quality outside shooter and a great scorer. Against bigger defenders he will simply use his speed to get to the basket. Having a player like Benn made it possible for Niagara to be a good team on the glass despite being undersized.

Final Projection:

Can Williamson play the five? Can anybody play the five? If this team does not want to get dominated on the glass and in the paint on the defensive end, a few players have to step up and fill Egemonye’s role. Somebody has to score in the paint so the shooters can get space on the perimeter. Somebody has to block some shots under the basket and somebody has to help Benn on the glass. If nobody can, it is another trip to the NIT for Niagara.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:

Anthony Nelson, Junior, Guard, 8.1 points per game

Tyrone Lewis, Senior, Guard, 16.2 points per game

Rob Garrison, Senior, Guard, 10.9 points per game

Bilal Benn, Senior, Guard, 13.8 points per game

Demetrius Williamson, Senior, Forward, 7.7 points per game

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