Martin + Morton= wins

[pearl777]

Let me again remind you guys its difficult to win without a true pg I agree the little guy is going to have to get used to the d1 level of ball, when he does the mens team is in for an exciting season. Pretty big expectations for a young guy but I think he will dominate at this level. My predictions for the maac is fairfield will be the number 1 team because of 1 name Desmond Wade, kid is a solid pg he will bring them to the next level. Same reason I feel marist is going to the next level morton is very similar to wade a lil more electric but with less experience on the d1 level. Many games I watched last year the offense became stagnant for long periods of time that can be blamed on the coaching but its very hard to coach without someone who can make happen on the court what you say during the huddle. Mortons hs coach said of the lil guy he has the strongest will to win of any player he ever coached in his 33yrs of coaching and hes coached some great talent. When you have the will and you got the skill that equals out to wins. Knowone is saying marist is immediately taking over whats being stated here is this is the turning point. Its been stated before obviously but you didnt have a pg of mortons caliber. Alot of pressure to put on a young guy but if he didnt welcome the pressure I think he would of made a safer committment to a school that was winning. The kid has an attack style game as opposed to being passive that same mentality will rub off on his teammates and wins will come get your tickets now it will be rocking at the mccann center. The kid is a flat out winner!

[ken]

I can't wait!

[yankee]

Marist PR department, you are fired. Pearl is hired:). Great post and hope you are right. I think not only will he be a great Pg, but he is gonna do a great job in the few minutes he needs to body up some of those power forwards. LETS GO MARIST!

[dribble4drive]

Kemp is an Excellent MAAC center... I think everyone agrees on that. He is great on the glass but does have some injury issues.. also he is a big guy so it will be hard for him to play 25 minutes every game. He is so aggressive that he will naturally be in foul trouble if he plays his game... Going over the back for rebounds and contesting shots... etc Prinsloo is not ready to play 20 minutes next year. He does not rebound well for a big and is not a natural center. Not signing a Big in this class does really hurt...

CM's lack of success is not completely on him. Everybody knows that players make coaches look good just as much as coaches make players look good. A Villanova Transfer at center a Boston College transfer at small Forward the returning all freshman selection at point guard an explosive player from Philly at shooting guard and a 6'7 specimen from Manchester at Power forward. 1-29? no. 5-27? no. Maybe we're talking a MAAC championship especially in Drummonds senior year. But games are not won on paper and we can only imagine what this line up could have been like. I know we would not be talking about CM's job. But he was exposed because he was forced to coach when he thought talent would get him to the next level. The 10 win team was very competetive and fun to watch and lost some close games... probably could have maxed out at about 15 wins. The 1 win team was not a good group... too young and inexperienced to be competetive. Honestly probably could have maxed out at 8 wins. The 5 win team could have maxed out at 12 or 13 wins. Next years team hitting their maximum potential could win 12 games.. MAX

Morton- I watched Morton's film and highlights and do think he has very good offensive ability. He does have A-10 or CAA ability.. I almost feel bad for the kid because his expectations are so high that if he averages 8 points and 5 assist it will seem like he under achieved. Lets not forget that he will be a FRESHMAN this year. Not only will he be a Freshman but if he starts the year out as the primary weapon on offense teams will game plan for him and tailor their defense to stop him. With him having the pressure of everybody to score 20 points with ten assist is a bit ridiculous for a 5'8 150 pound 18 year old kid that has never played college basketball before. He will be an exciting guard in the conference but he like all freshman will have to go through some growing pains. What made Needham so good is that he was the missing peice to a winning team with High level players like Johnson and Hawkins along side. We're expecting Morton to take over from day 1 and it just is not fair expectations for him.

Lewis Curry and Thomas- Lewis has the size to play right away especially if he sees minutes at the two guard. I am not sure how good he will be but if anyone thinks that he is better than a JR. Prescott is not being realisitic. Losing Prescott is a HUGE blow. He was the best player on the team by a stretch and had the most significant improvement from his freshman to sophomore year in the conference besides Beason from Manhattan. Curry and Thomas are going to give us minutes off the bench but in order for Lewis to cancel Prescott out he will need to average anywhere from 15-18 points. If he can do that great... if he ends up averaging around 10 points and 5 rebounds that is great as well. The point I am trying to make is that it is unrealistic for us to expect two incoming freshman to carry this team offensively. Curry and Thomas will be decent players coming off the bench giving spot minutes

Price- It will be interesting to see how he is utilized this year. It is pretty obvious that he will not be the starting point guard but I think he is the biggest offensive weapon on the team because he can get to the basket and shoot from the outside. It shows a lot of character on his part by him staying considering the way he has been treated here, him being in CMs doghouse to start out last season, his best friend leaving at the semester, then CM bringing in another PG who is expected to start from day 1. I give him credit for sticking it out and hope he has a great year. I do think he will be able to help the team tremendously but I am not sure in what aspect.

It will be an interesting year nonetheless. The front line is so thin that any injuries would be devestating. I hope the team finds a formula that works and allows them to be competetive in games. putting a set number of wins on this team is not fair, the most That we can ask for at this point is for them to be in the game and pull a few out. Expectations were thrown out the window when 4 of his sophomores decided to leave town. This is a brand new group so they have to be able to start with a clean slate. The group will be even worse off if CM is fired after this year.

[petagay77]

May 26, 2011 19:29:22 GMT -5 dribble4drive said:

Kemp is an Excellent MAAC center... I think everyone agrees on that. He is great on the glass but does have some injury issues.. also he is a big guy so it will be hard for him to play 25 minutes every game. He is so aggressive that he will naturally be in foul trouble if he plays his game... Going over the back for rebounds and contesting shots... etc Prinsloo is not ready to play 20 minutes next year. He does not rebound well for a big and is not a natural center. Not signing a Big in this class does really hurt...

CM's lack of success is not completely on him. Everybody knows that players make coaches look good just as much as coaches make players look good. A Villanova Transfer at center a Boston College transfer at small Forward the returning all freshman selection at point guard an explosive player from Philly at shooting guard and a 6'7 specimen from Manchester at Power forward. 1-29? no. 5-27? no. Maybe we're talking a MAAC championship especially in Drummonds senior year. But games are not won on paper and we can only imagine what this line up could have been like. I know we would not be talking about CM's job. But he was exposed because he was forced to coach when he thought talent would get him to the next level. The 10 win team was very competetive and fun to watch and lost some close games... probably could have maxed out at about 15 wins. The 1 win team was not a good group... too young and inexperienced to be competetive. Honestly probably could have maxed out at 8 wins. The 5 win team could have maxed out at 12 or 13 wins. Next years team hitting their maximum potential could win 12 games.. MAX

Morton- I watched Morton's film and highlights and do think he has very good offensive ability. He does have A-10 or CAA ability.. I almost feel bad for the kid because his expectations are so high that if he averages 8 points and 5 assist it will seem like he under achieved. Lets not forget that he will be a FRESHMAN this year. Not only will he be a Freshman but if he starts the year out as the primary weapon on offense teams will game plan for him and tailor their defense to stop him. With him having the pressure of everybody to score 20 points with ten assist is a bit ridiculous for a 5'8 150 pound 18 year old kid that has never played college basketball before. He will be an exciting guard in the conference but he like all freshman will have to go through some growing pains. What made Needham so good is that he was the missing peice to a winning team with High level players like Johnson and Hawkins along side. We're expecting Morton to take over from day 1 and it just is not fair expectations for him.

Lewis Curry and Thomas- Lewis has the size to play right away especially if he sees minutes at the two guard. I am not sure how good he will be but if anyone thinks that he is better than a JR. Prescott is not being realisitic. Losing Prescott is a HUGE blow. He was the best player on the team by a stretch and had the most significant improvement from his freshman to sophomore year in the conference besides Beason from Manhattan. Curry and Thomas are going to give us minutes off the bench but in order for Lewis to cancel Prescott out he will need to average anywhere from 15-18 points. If he can do that great... if he ends up averaging around 10 points and 5 rebounds that is great as well. The point I am trying to make is that it is unrealistic for us to expect two incoming freshman to carry this team offensively. Curry and Thomas will be decent players coming off the bench giving spot minutes

Price- It will be interesting to see how he is utilized this year. It is pretty obvious that he will not be the starting point guard but I think he is the biggest offensive weapon on the team because he can get to the basket and shoot from the outside. It shows a lot of character on his part by him staying considering the way he has been treated here, him being in CMs doghouse to start out last season, his best friend leaving at the semester, then CM bringing in another PG who is expected to start from day 1. I give him credit for sticking it out and hope he has a great year. I do think he will be able to help the team tremendously but I am not sure in what aspect.

It will be an interesting year nonetheless. The front line is so thin that any injuries would be devestating. I hope the team finds a formula that works and allows them to be competetive in games. putting a set number of wins on this team is not fair, the most That we can ask for at this point is for them to be in the game and pull a few out. Expectations were thrown out the window when 4 of his sophomores decided to leave town. This is a brand new group so they have to be able to start with a clean slate. The group will be even worse off if CM is fired after this year.

good job .. very thought out and detailed ...

[dewd]

What have you done with the real d4d? I kinda miss that guy, but that was a well thought out post and I agree with most of the things you say. I have been saying I am setting the bar at 10 MAAC wins since this is year 4 of the CM tenure and I thought that is where they could have gotten next year if Prescott and the others stayed and were joined by Morton and Thomas. I think with them leaving, the bar should not really be lowered, so I am leaving that as the target. How many wins do I think they will end up with? I have no idea. I think more than 6, but it could be anywhere from 6 to 15 I would say. We really don't know how this group is going to be, so it will make for an interesting November and December to see how it plays out.

[yankee]

Here we go. 6-15 wins? I would hope you stick to what you say and not be able accept 6 wins next year as Marist fan. If this regime gets only 6 wins in his 4th year, thats beyond pathetic. And he WILL not be able to use the excuse they are young. They are young because players have left him. Players he recruited. That stuff will not fly next year I hope. But I can so see it being said next year.

[dewd]

I am not saying it is acceptable, I am just saying I have no idea how many wins they are going to get. I might as well have said zero to 20 wins could be possible next year. nomar is saying they will not win 6. I am cautiously optimistic and am feeling pretty confident they will win more than 6, but I really have only a gut feeling on that and no basis to make that prediction. We do not even know what the OOC schedule is going to look like other than Kentucky, Vermont, New Hampshire and one other in that Vermont bracket that escapes me at the moment. Maybe I am caught up in that aura of good feeling Pearl is spreading, but I do have a good feeling about this team and am hopeful they will be decent to good next year with a lot of upside for the year after next.

[ctfoxfan]

Martin + Morton = 5 to 7 wins. If thats what gets you off then good for you. I personally want a MB's team that has a shot of getting more wins than the football team. Call me crazy and of course negative. I prefer to call myself realistic. I really hope I am wrong because I care about the all Marist programs. Unless Morton becomes Derrick Rose, 5 to 7 is the number (total league+non league).
Again, I truly hope I'm wrong.

The most glaring need was a low post defender/rebounder. He got us more smurfs.

[dribble4drive]

I am the real d4d an what I am being real about is the expectations. I do not think Morton will be a 16 and 8 freshman or Lewis be 17 and 8. I do not think CM is a good coach but him not having good teams has exposed his lack of ability to coach too early. I think this team can max at 12 overall wins depending how the schedule is. I think this team however is looking at 8 or 9 wins this season realistically

[dribble4drive]

If they were to cut ties with Martin last year would have been the year to do it. They brought in a whole new team anyway so I'm sure it could not have been worse. My fear is that the team will start off slow and at 1-10 the team loses the community support because of CM and he is fired.. Then if more players leave it will be like starting completely over for the 4th time in five years

[petagay77]

May 26, 2011 23:29:02 GMT -5 dribble4drive said:

I am the real d4d an what I am being real about is the expectations. I do not think Morton will be a 16 and 8 freshman or Lewis be 17 and 8. I do not think CM is a good coach but him not having good teams has exposed his lack of ability to coach too early. I think this team can max at 12 overall wins depending how the schedule is. I think this team however is looking at 8 or 9 wins this season realistically

D4D .. 1ST. GOOD JOB AGAIN ON UR PREVIOUS POST. HOWEVER, I DONT REMEMBER SEEING ANYONE EXPECTING 20/10 OR 18/8 FROM MORTON AND LEWIS .. NO ONE REALLY EXPECTS THAT. i WOULD SAY 9.8 /5.7 FROM MORTON AND 10.7/ 5 FROM LEWIS AVGS. I SAW EVEN THE XTRA CRITICAL GUYS POSTIN THOSE TYPE OF # ...

IN ADDITION, IM EXPECTING 9/5 FROM BOWIE AND 11.9 / 5 FROM ANELL AND MAYBE 8.4/ 8 FROM KEMP. MORTONS & LEWIS ABILITY TO CREATE AND PASS WILL ALLOW IT TO BE A MORE BALANCE ATTACK .. #ONE MANS EXPECTATION/ FEELING ...

[dribble4drive]

Those are realistic expectations that you posted peta but if a 16 ppg player does not emerge from this group and the highest avg on the team is 11.8 ppg (similar to SP last year) then the team is in for another long year. I posted 20/10 and 18/8 because that's what it will take for a freshman to come in and be a "wow how did we land him he should be in the big east" kind of player. The expectations for Morton are through the roof.. You and I both know that. The expectations offensively for lewis are also steep and I believe in order for them to live up to or surpass expectations or for them to be two of the top freshman in the country in their respective conferences then they will need to put up big numbers. 10 and 6 are about what I am expecting for morton and that is AWESOME for a freshman PG. Im more concerned with his assist/TO ratio and shooting percentage however. He needs to control the game and make smart plays and have a good shot selection to maximize the success of the team. Just one mans opinion

[ggaff]

I agree with Dewd and Yankee...... I do like the fact that the guys that he brought in our leader types. None of the guys that left were leaders. Barnett would have been exactly what the doctor ordered. I'm hoping that Morton and Lewis are as good as most of us think they are and they can win a few OOC games to give them confidence going into the MAAC season. My expectation is that after this season that we know we have a contender for years to come. If we don't have that........... I'm also from the camp that it's players that make coaches look good. They all know the game pretty well.. If they can make quick in-game adjustments most can do the job. Usually the guy with the better players wins..

[oldredfox]

dribble4drive i like your post.But who recruiited the Villanova center and the bc sg and the big guy from england and the 4 that left. Can't blame it on Brady