Skyline Conference, Season 61-pres Topic

Several of us joined the Skyline in season 59 to rebuild the conference. Season 61 may mark the first changing of
the guard at the top of the conference, and it should also be the most competitive season to date from top to bottom.
Here are what I believe to be the standings on both sides of the conference:
 
East
 
#6: Centenary
 
First-year coach dgravs inherited a young squad with only one senior and lots of freshman. The team is lagging behind the
rest of the East in athleticism and defense which will make it hard for them to compete, however dgravs looks to have some
good young talent that should be solid in a few years.
 
#5: Mt. St. Vincent
 
Another first-year coach, rgann has a solid squad headed by senior leaders Michael Ray and David Braun. This team should
be able to score with the best of them as they have several talented PER/LP scorers. However, the athleticism and speed
combo may hold this team back from threatening in the East.
 
#4: Mt. St. Mary
 
This team is going to be very tough to predict, as junior studs Nelson and Wuest will be two of the best players in the
Skyline this year. Even with some of the Skyline's top-tier talent, the lack of depth and guardplay will most likely
be exposed by some of the other teams in conference play.
 
#3: SUNY, Farmingdale
 
This team is solid and deep overall, with some total stud athletes in Aiken and Sugalski leading the way on defense. The
solid team athleticism and defense should keep this team very competitive, but the low speed/LP/PER will make it tough for
them to put up enough points. Still, they will be in every game this year and will be a dangerous team come CT.
 
#2: SUNY, Maritime
 
Looking at this team's history it has been a long, long time since they have been anywhere but #1 in conference. jana has
some studly young talent in Steve Lamkin and Joshua Kaufman that should make a lot of noise in the national over the next
few years, but youth will put Maritime at a little bit of a disadvantage versus the other top teams. That being said look
for John Llloyd to lead this team to a near-spotless conference record.
 
#1: Manhattanville
 
This team is the most athletic and defensively talented team in the Skyline, and is one of the tops in the country. Because
of this it looks like they will be chasing their first conference championship on the backs of junior studs Pablo and Bitner.
However the lack of depth at guard could be this team's achilles heel - watch out if the backcourt gets into foul trouble.
 
West
 
#6: Old Westbury
 
This team is simply outmatched athletically. Not to mention it is led by a sim.
 
#5: Hilbert
 
zsmiller has a solid junior class coming through and will be competitive in most games in the West, but the lack of depth
and athleticism will put this team at a disadvantage in most games.
 
#4: US Merchant Marines
 
New coach thebry should have his hands full with the West this season, however the good young talent that he acquired
in his first recruiting session will be very tough in the seasons to come.
 
#3: Yeshiva
 
This team may not be the most athletically or defensively sound, but juststinger has a stud perimeter player (Moss) and a stud
rebounder (Miller) that will help this team to many conference victories.
 
#2: St. Joseph's
 
Led by senior stud Robert Clark, this team is poised to make a real run in the West. Clark and Hanna will lead the way
for this squad on defense and will shut anyone down that they match up with. Even with a stud of Clark's ability this team
may have issues with speed and youth, but look for them to make a lot noise this year.
 
#1: Stevens Tech
 
With no graduates in the offseason, this team is the most seasoned and deep team in the Skyline this season. Led by Tony
Ingram, branchel should be the favorite in every West matchup this season. Offensively this team may have a tough time
putting up points against the better defensive squads, but due to the overall athleticism, speed and defense on this
team they should come out on top in the West.

Predictions:
CT Champion: Manhattanville
CPOY: Robert Clark
DPOY: Charles Nelson
CCOY: branchel
NT Teams: Manhattanville, Stevens Tech, SUNY, Maritime
PIT Teams: SUNY, Farmingdale, St. Joseph's, Mt. St. Mary
 
9/26/2012 1:28 PM
Charles Nelson baby!!
9/26/2012 4:13 PM
I stacked my non conf. schedule with the hopes of having a high enough RPI and SOS to get me into the NT.  If I dont make it this year, I will probably not make it for a while.  I like the predictions.  I think my boy Robert Clark may drop 50+ on any SIM team that I play this year. 
I dont know if Stevens Tech has enough PER to get back into games he gets behind in.  Outside Clark, I dont really either, but that 3 point shot sure does help in WhatIf.  Im really surprised Jana's squad isnt ranked, just because.  That dude has man handled this conference for a while now. 
9/26/2012 6:46 PM
thanks all for the love, we are young however what is really a good point I have over 55 blue growth areas, lets see how we grow. I do believe this season starts wide open.
9/26/2012 8:15 PM
Yeah Manhattanville I think is the slight frontrunner, but of course its wide open. I think stevens, st josephs and maritime are going to be contenders in the CT though
9/26/2012 8:58 PM
A few mid-season observations, first off I may have been a little overzealous with the 6 teams to the NT/ top 5 conference RPI this season. I think I was one season too early with that prediction. However, expectedly to this point Manhattanville and Stevens Tech have been the strongest teams (with Stevens Tech getting a big win between those two in the first game of the Skyline season). Also hats off to rgann at Mt. St. Vincent, that team is tough but for his first season in HD I think he deserves some credit for the solid start on that team.
10/9/2012 10:04 AM

my team SUCKED in non conference.  I only played well in my 2 big games but still lost.  I need lots of conference wins to do ANYTHING

10/9/2012 10:21 PM
I think the 2 SUNY teams have definitely proven themselves. I am hopeful that the teams good enough for the NT don't get stuck with the PI.
10/16/2012 8:39 PM
If I could have gone .500 in non conf, I'd be sitting pretty.  But I didnt.  So, I need a big time run of wins.
10/18/2012 12:28 AM
Post-season reflection...

Player of the Year:
Robert Clark (28.2 ppg , 4.2 rpg, 1.9 spg) Senior SF - St. Joseph's College (Long Island)
Defensive Player of the Year:
Leonard Barrett (4.3 ppg , 5.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 1.1 spg) Junior SF - Stevens Institute of Technology
Freshman of the Year:
James Talavera (8.1 ppg ) SG - State University of New York Maritime College
Coach of the Year:
branchel - Stevens Tech.

First and foremost hats off to the Skyline coaches who have improved this conference ten-fold since taking over a few seasons ago. In particular Gann and Justin got more out of their team than what I thought was going to be possible, with Gann being in the thick of things in our side of the conference and Justin getting some big wins including one over perennial power SUNYM. Looking over the teams we've got some great talent in the conference and with the success that we've had we have the coaches to maximize that potential.

Full Disclosure: Things I got right

Obviously Robert Clark was a solid pick for CPOY, but who didn't see that one coming? That was the lock of the century. I also picked branchel to be COY and was not surprised to see that one play out the way it did (congrats to branchel on his first conference tournament title and NT appearance!). I was also fairly close with the postseason teams as it looks now, with Mt. St. Vincent replacing Mt. St. Mary as the PIT team I projected.

Full Disclosure: Things I got wrong

The most glaring incorrect projection was the assessment of my own team - I assumed we would be a force in the conference but the depth of the other teams in the conference were too much for us to overcome. Also, defensive stud Charles Nelson didn't live up to his DPOY potential, but Barrett was more than worthy of that award. Nelson's defensive prowess was probably hindered a bit since his back was sore from carrying the team.
10/30/2012 11:17 AM
How many teams from the Skyline will make the postseason next season?



Votes: 11
(Last vote received: 11/20/2012 11:14 AM)
10/30/2012 11:19 AM
Whens this seasons outlook going up?  We got a full staff of people, a few ranked teams and a wide open shot for any player to be the best in the conf.
11/15/2012 4:39 PM
Season 62 Preview:

Alright guys should be a big year in the Skyline. Enjoy :)

East
 
#6 Centenary
 
Coach dgravs has a tough challenge ahead of him this year - The East is fairly stacked with a bunch of athletic,
defensively sound NT contenders. That being said Bob Seeger should be able to pull some 'night moves' from deep
to keep this team in a lot of games.
 
#5 Mt. St. Vincent
 
This team lost some solid talent in the offseason, so this could be a little bit of a rebuilding year for coach
rgann. However this team has some stud perimeter shooting and decent low post play, so this team will score - the
question is whether they can D it up.
 
#4 SUNY, Farmingdale
 
Experience is the reason this team isn't ranked higher; they are certainly not bereft of talent. Besides junior Jason
Cardone, this team lacks another legitimate scoring threat. They will definitely be able to stop teams with their strong
defense, but they will need to have a surprise offensive contributor in order to be a threat. Teams in the Skyline need
to watch for this team next year as that junior class has contender written all over it.
 
#3 Mt. St. Mary
 
Over the offseason, senior leader Charles Nelson challenged his teammates to "get on his level." It seems that the others
have decided to follow suit. Mt. St. Mary finally has a few legitimate offensive options to go along with a strong defense.
The question for this team is whether the young guys will be able to contribute quality minutes or whither under all the
pressure of conference competition.
 
#2 SUNY, Maritime
 
Last year's runaway East champion kept 11 players, so this is somewhat of a surprising pick at #2. With solid athleticism, speed,
defense and depth this team will be in every conference game this season. They've also got a solid offensive game. This team is very
similar to Farmingdale in that what holds them back is senior leadership, but not only the Skyline but the rest of the country
should be watching out for this team next season.
 
#1 Manhattanville
 
Last season's pick turned out to be a bust, in large part due to inexperience. Pablo, Stall and Bitner couldn't handle the pressure
of being a front-runner and had no senior studs to lean on in pressure situations. However, the 'big three' decided that they wouldn't
take anything less than a Skyline championship this year. We'll see if they can deliver.
 
West
 
#6 Hilbert
 
Coach zsmiller is going to be have a very tough time matching up with the Skyline this year. What this team needs is the seniors to
graduate and get some new blood into the program.
 
#5 Old Westbury
 
First-year Skyline coach ben919 will need to overachieve greatly in order to compete with the big boys in the West. He'll need to rely
on his previous coaching experience and good perimeter game to come away with some victories.
 
#4 US Merchant Marines
 
It seems that thebry disappointed some recruits last season as he saw several of his freshmens' work ethic plummet. However, he took
them behind the proverbial woodshed over the summer break and taught them a lesson on winning. We should be able to expect more out
of this team this season.
 
#3 Yeshiva
 
Timmy Moss, arguably the greatest perimeter threat to ever hit the floor in Skyline, leads this bunch. Teams in the Skyline know Moss
will get his, the question is what other contribution this team will get. If others can lend a hand to the Timmy Moss show, then this
team may surprise some people this year.
 
#2 St. Joseph's
 
With the exit of stud Robert Clark, it may seem surprising that this team is ranked so highly. However, coach xtrme98 has put together
a squad full of good athletes and defenders, and this formula has shown time and time again to work.
 
#1 Stevens Tech
 
Last year's COY and CT winner branchel has got to be excited about this year as he returns just about everybody that contributed to 
last season's national tournament berth. The expectations are swirling all around Hoboken - the question is, who will buy in to the
hype and who will continue do the little things right. The good thing is that the talent level is just as high as the players' egos,
which makes this team a tough matchup with anyone in the Skyline.
 
Predictions:
 
CT Champion: Manhattanville
CPOY: Timmy Moss
DPOY: Charles Nelson
CCOY: bdpoor
NT Teams: Manhattanville, SUNYM, Stevens Tech
PIT Teams: Mt. St. Mary, Farmingdale, Mt. St. Vincent
11/19/2012 11:12 PM
Great job Ben as always. I believe that Grant's team is too highly ranked, they should probably be last in all of D-III. But I'm definitely impressed with the quality of teams we have. We took this conference to nothing with Jana dominating (and still dominating) to a solid group of teams. I believe that SUNY Farmingdale will definitely be better than fourth as well, ATH & DEF will help his team greatly. Also, I don't know how I'm not the No. 2 team in the West. 
11/20/2012 9:47 AM
thats true about this conferencfe justin, and thanks, i was torn both with MSM/Farmingdale and Yeshiva/St. Joseph's. Obviously Moss is the best player of the bunch of but his Ath/def is what made me go with them.
11/20/2012 2:30 PM
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