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Saturday, November 18, 2006
Quirky scheduling gave us a chance to see two Patriot League teams in action last night. On the way to Easton for the Saint Joe's-Lafayette game, we dropped by Stabler arena to ctahc the first half of the Cornell-Lehigh game. Here are a few observations from our notebook:
GOOD NEWS FOR LEHIGH: Night and day, the difference between last year's Jason Mgebroff and this year's version. He still looks soft and pasty, but Mgrebroff is moving much better this season. The big senior showed nice touch on midrange jumpers and is looking to score facing the basket more. Lehigh even ran a set for him to catch and shoot off a screen near the foul line. There is no doubt Mgebroff is providing Lehigh with an inside scoring threat it lacked last season.
HALL IS FOR REAL: Didn't take long for freshman point guard Marquis Hall to make himself at home in Stabler. In his first game in Lehigh's hangar, Hall had 10 points already before the 10 minute mark. He also had at least one steal (will have to check the box to see if he was credited with another) and looked comfortable running the Hawks offense. Hall has a smooth stroke and a very quick release.
More important for Lehigh, the five returning starters on the floor with Hall looked comfortable with him running things. When he is not on the floor, things don't seem to go near as well for Lehigh at the offensive end.
DEPTH A QUESTION: Lehigh's first five is pretty good. But there looks to be a big dropoff when Billy Taylor goes to his bench. They lack effective backups at the point and the five and don't seem to have any scoring available off the bench. Freshman Matt Shamis was Taylor's first option at the point when he gave Hall a breather, but after a few trips down the floor with Shamis unable to get the Hawks into their offense, Shamis handed off those duties to Jose Olivero.
Olivero is an ideal answer, but other than playing Hall 40 minutes a night, he might be the only answer. Shamis does not look ready and there does not seem to be another option.
The problem with playing Olivero at the point is his scorer's mentality. Olivero tends to look to shoot first, often jacking shots up off balance, from long range, early in the shot clock. To his credit, a lot of those somehow seem to go in. But a trip or two up the floor like that and the rest of the team starts standing around watching Olivero do his thing
Up front there is a similar concern about depth in the post behind Mgebroff. Zahir Carrington, a 6-7 freshman from Philadelphia, appears to be Taylor's first man off the bench up front. Seven-foot sophomore John Gourlay is still not ready. Also in that rotation is 6-10 sophomore Phil Andersen at the four. When Mgebroff and Bryan White were on the bench at the same time, Lehigh's interior defense was very vulnerable and there was no offensive threat, regardless the combination Taylor put on the floor.
CROWD ADVANTAGE TO LAFAYETTE: We won't know until early next year how Lehigh and Lafayette will stack up on the floor, but in the stands, it is Lafayette by a wide margin. At least on this Friday night.
At Stabler, a crowd of around 150 students, led by the usual L*E*H*I*G*H bodypaint guys in the front row, are joined by only around 200 or so other fans. In the official box score it lists attendance at 887. They must have been counting legs, including both teams, the cheerleaders, dance team and folks working concessions. A nose count would be hard pressed to reach half that number.
At Lafayette, it is far from a full house. But Kirby's more intimate nature makes a crowd of 2,876 seem much louder.
And speaking of student sections, we'd be remiss if we did not mention the hardy gang of Saint Joe's kids who made the trip to Easton. The Hawks were well-represented, holding their own against what once was known as the Zoo Crew.
And speaking of the Zoo Crew, come to think of it, we only saw one Zoo Crew shirt all night -- a yellow one from the glory days.
WEARING STRIPES: We'd be remiss if we didn't mention Rich Giallella's presence. Apparently he actually does work games that don't involve Bucknell. Also on the crew for the Lafayette-Saint Joe's game: veteran Joe DeMayo and Reggie Greenwood.
SCOUTING SAINT JOE'S: Phil Martelli's bunch are young -- they start two freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors -- and they are athletic. The big men6-8 Rob Ferguson and 6-9 Ahmad Nivins, run the floor well and have decent hops. Junior Pat Calathes gives the Hawks an extra dimension. He is a 6-10 kid who plays on the wing. Calathes and Ferguson will both step out and shoot the three.
Matter of fact, most of the Saint Joe's lineup shoots the three.
It would not be surprising if the Hawks have a stronger year than many expect. And next year, look out. They don't have a senior on the roster.
STATS CAN BE DECEIVING: Looking at the in game live stats with about 15 minutes to go in the Lafayette-Saint Joe's game, it is hard to figure how the Leopards can be down by double digits. They are shooting the ball extremely well (59.3 percent) and making threes (5 for 11) .
The problem is, Lafayette is finding it tough to guard the quicker Hawks, who are shooting it pretty well (55. 9 percent from the field, 7 of 14 from the arc) and also getting to the line. Saint Joe's is 10 for 14 foul shooting, Lafayette has gotten to the line only 6 times (making 3). Add in Saint Joe's 19-13 edge on the boards and the numbers begin to make sense.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL: When asked about Sunday's game with Bucknell, Saint Joe's coach Phil Martelli feigned ignorance.
"I don't know anything about them. I have not seen a shred of tape," Martelli insisted.
He does know this much: "They beat our butt two years in a row. They beat us in the field house like nobody has taken us apart in there. They are the ultimate system team," Martelli said.
ABOUT THOSE SCHOLARSHIPS: It does not look like the addition of scholarships wil have much impact on Lafayette this season. Getting the OK from the trustees as late in the recruiting season as they did, the 'Pards were not able to use their new-found powers to lure any impact types.
Two of the four freshmen on the roster saw minutes against Saint Joe's, but not many. Andre Hines averaged 19 minutes per game in Lafayette's first three outings, but he saw only 5 minutes against Saint Joe's. Big man Marek Koltun's size might have come in handy against a big team like Saint Joe's. But the 6-10 freshman looked slow and unsure of himself on the defensive end during a brief appearance.
Neither of Lafayette's other two freshmen got off the bench.
LATE START: The unusual 9 p.m. game time was due to Lafayette's Fall of fame dinner Friday night, part of the Lafayette-Lehigh football weekend festivities. The game time was set to allow folks to make it to both events.
GOOD NEWS FOR LEHIGH: Night and day, the difference between last year's Jason Mgebroff and this year's version. He still looks soft and pasty, but Mgrebroff is moving much better this season. The big senior showed nice touch on midrange jumpers and is looking to score facing the basket more. Lehigh even ran a set for him to catch and shoot off a screen near the foul line. There is no doubt Mgebroff is providing Lehigh with an inside scoring threat it lacked last season.
HALL IS FOR REAL: Didn't take long for freshman point guard Marquis Hall to make himself at home in Stabler. In his first game in Lehigh's hangar, Hall had 10 points already before the 10 minute mark. He also had at least one steal (will have to check the box to see if he was credited with another) and looked comfortable running the Hawks offense. Hall has a smooth stroke and a very quick release.
More important for Lehigh, the five returning starters on the floor with Hall looked comfortable with him running things. When he is not on the floor, things don't seem to go near as well for Lehigh at the offensive end.
DEPTH A QUESTION: Lehigh's first five is pretty good. But there looks to be a big dropoff when Billy Taylor goes to his bench. They lack effective backups at the point and the five and don't seem to have any scoring available off the bench. Freshman Matt Shamis was Taylor's first option at the point when he gave Hall a breather, but after a few trips down the floor with Shamis unable to get the Hawks into their offense, Shamis handed off those duties to Jose Olivero.
Olivero is an ideal answer, but other than playing Hall 40 minutes a night, he might be the only answer. Shamis does not look ready and there does not seem to be another option.
The problem with playing Olivero at the point is his scorer's mentality. Olivero tends to look to shoot first, often jacking shots up off balance, from long range, early in the shot clock. To his credit, a lot of those somehow seem to go in. But a trip or two up the floor like that and the rest of the team starts standing around watching Olivero do his thing
Up front there is a similar concern about depth in the post behind Mgebroff. Zahir Carrington, a 6-7 freshman from Philadelphia, appears to be Taylor's first man off the bench up front. Seven-foot sophomore John Gourlay is still not ready. Also in that rotation is 6-10 sophomore Phil Andersen at the four. When Mgebroff and Bryan White were on the bench at the same time, Lehigh's interior defense was very vulnerable and there was no offensive threat, regardless the combination Taylor put on the floor.
CROWD ADVANTAGE TO LAFAYETTE: We won't know until early next year how Lehigh and Lafayette will stack up on the floor, but in the stands, it is Lafayette by a wide margin. At least on this Friday night.
At Stabler, a crowd of around 150 students, led by the usual L*E*H*I*G*H bodypaint guys in the front row, are joined by only around 200 or so other fans. In the official box score it lists attendance at 887. They must have been counting legs, including both teams, the cheerleaders, dance team and folks working concessions. A nose count would be hard pressed to reach half that number.
At Lafayette, it is far from a full house. But Kirby's more intimate nature makes a crowd of 2,876 seem much louder.
And speaking of student sections, we'd be remiss if we did not mention the hardy gang of Saint Joe's kids who made the trip to Easton. The Hawks were well-represented, holding their own against what once was known as the Zoo Crew.
And speaking of the Zoo Crew, come to think of it, we only saw one Zoo Crew shirt all night -- a yellow one from the glory days.
WEARING STRIPES: We'd be remiss if we didn't mention Rich Giallella's presence. Apparently he actually does work games that don't involve Bucknell. Also on the crew for the Lafayette-Saint Joe's game: veteran Joe DeMayo and Reggie Greenwood.
SCOUTING SAINT JOE'S: Phil Martelli's bunch are young -- they start two freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors -- and they are athletic. The big men6-8 Rob Ferguson and 6-9 Ahmad Nivins, run the floor well and have decent hops. Junior Pat Calathes gives the Hawks an extra dimension. He is a 6-10 kid who plays on the wing. Calathes and Ferguson will both step out and shoot the three.
Matter of fact, most of the Saint Joe's lineup shoots the three.
It would not be surprising if the Hawks have a stronger year than many expect. And next year, look out. They don't have a senior on the roster.
STATS CAN BE DECEIVING: Looking at the in game live stats with about 15 minutes to go in the Lafayette-Saint Joe's game, it is hard to figure how the Leopards can be down by double digits. They are shooting the ball extremely well (59.3 percent) and making threes (5 for 11) .
The problem is, Lafayette is finding it tough to guard the quicker Hawks, who are shooting it pretty well (55. 9 percent from the field, 7 of 14 from the arc) and also getting to the line. Saint Joe's is 10 for 14 foul shooting, Lafayette has gotten to the line only 6 times (making 3). Add in Saint Joe's 19-13 edge on the boards and the numbers begin to make sense.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL: When asked about Sunday's game with Bucknell, Saint Joe's coach Phil Martelli feigned ignorance.
"I don't know anything about them. I have not seen a shred of tape," Martelli insisted.
He does know this much: "They beat our butt two years in a row. They beat us in the field house like nobody has taken us apart in there. They are the ultimate system team," Martelli said.
ABOUT THOSE SCHOLARSHIPS: It does not look like the addition of scholarships wil have much impact on Lafayette this season. Getting the OK from the trustees as late in the recruiting season as they did, the 'Pards were not able to use their new-found powers to lure any impact types.
Two of the four freshmen on the roster saw minutes against Saint Joe's, but not many. Andre Hines averaged 19 minutes per game in Lafayette's first three outings, but he saw only 5 minutes against Saint Joe's. Big man Marek Koltun's size might have come in handy against a big team like Saint Joe's. But the 6-10 freshman looked slow and unsure of himself on the defensive end during a brief appearance.
Neither of Lafayette's other two freshmen got off the bench.
LATE START: The unusual 9 p.m. game time was due to Lafayette's Fall of fame dinner Friday night, part of the Lafayette-Lehigh football weekend festivities. The game time was set to allow folks to make it to both events.
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