Wagner at Bryant, Tuesday night at 7 PM on ESPN2 for the right to represent the NEC in the NCAA tournament.
It’s fitting that the two best teams will be on national TV fighting for the championship.
Seeing this for the first time. I’m the guy on press row that Kiss is addressing.
“That was for you. Bitch!”
At least that’s what I read from his lips. What can I do but laugh. I’m NOT that important quite frankly 😂
I'm happy to announce that I will serve as a contributor to
@NECsports
this season. I'll chip in with website features, video content, posts on the NEC Overtime Blog and possibly more. Many thanks to
@NECHoopsRon
for bringing me on board!
The question for me is: has anyone at all publicly supported or endorsed this idea since the news broke?
Like if given a vote, does 85+% of the poll say this was a terrible idea? Probably.
Any mid-major coaches that have choice words about the NCAA ruling earlier today, shoot me a dm or text message.
Think I’m going to get a couple anonymous quotes together.
No Anderson, no Roberts, no Singleton, no Moore … no problem as Matt Capell gets STAC it’s 4th straight championship.
Capell was Anderson’s Associate HC since 2013 before rightfully getting promoted when his former boss left for FDU.
Glenn Braica is such a class act and it’s not the least bit surprising that he’s helping his players navigate the portal and find landing spots before worrying about his next job. He’ll land somewhere for sure, and I’ll root for wherever he ends up.
Column: Glenn Braica thought it was going to be a good week at St. Francis after learning most of his players intended to try to win a conference championship next year. Then the anvil dropped on Monday, and suddenly there is no next year in Brooklyn.
Tobin Anderson’s last 8 days:
Wednesday: Beats Texas Southern in the First 4
Friday: Stuns Purdue in Round of 64
Sunday: Loses to FAU in Round of 32
Monday: Today Show in last public appearance as FDU HC
Tuesday: Hired as Iona’s next HC
Today: Welcome press conference at Iona
It's always sad when the notable seniors have to call it a career after a NEC tournament loss. Sean Hoehn, Romone Saunders and Glenn Sanabria are fantastic players and model student-athletes for the league. They should be proud of their effort and achievements.
Happy for FDU and happy for the NEC getting that win share. I’ve seen a lot of NEC bashing on Twitter throughout the year, so for the Knights to dominate a team from a conference that was supposedly “better than the NEC” was awesome to see 😎
I'd call tonight a GREAT night for the NEC.
1) FDU gets their first ever NCAA tournament win
2) Saint Francis U puts a scare into Indiana in the NIT
3) Robert Morris advances in the CIT, defeating Cornell
What's so amazing about Junior playing well in NBA summer league, isnt that he's playing well on this stage, it's that he bought into a more limited role before his senior year at Mount St. Mary's. That illustrates his character and willingness to put team first.
Joel Hernandez showed us what you can do by staying at the same school for your entire career. He improved, honed his craft, matured and in the end was a star. His final game didn't go the way he wanted, but it was a GREAT senior season.
What a night for the NEC 🕺
The FDU men dominate Texas Southern, win easily for the Knights’ 2nd NCAAT victory in 5 years.
The SHU women never let Southern into the game after falling behind early, win comfortably in Cali.
@andersontobin
@jmnetter33
have a drink tonight!
I was just speaking with Howie Dickenman over the phone about another feature I'm working on for the NEC. During my interview, Howie is reciting events, statistics, scores that occurred years ago with uncanny accuracy. The man is a national treasure.
All from high major programs 🤦♂️
It's an absolute joke that Juvaris Hayes from
@MerrimackMBB
, who LEADS the country in steal rate (6.4%) and is the ALL TIME LEADER in NCAA steals, isn't on this list. Makes no sense.
#NECMBB
Merrimack’s Budd Clark is special. In this Samford game, I’ve seen a Clark 360 finish under the rim, an up and under lay-in, a stop on a dime jumper in the lane and a dribbling penetrating runner off the glass.
Joe Gallo can really recruit undersized guards.
.
@SHU_MensHoops
freshman Mike Sixsmith is about to break KenPom's offensive rating algorithm at this rate. The guard has the best offensive rating in all of Division I at 164.1 (100.0 is considered average). He's made 16 of 26 from deep (62.5%) and has 15 assists vs 3 TOs. 👀
With Siena knocking off Florida St on Thanksgiving and Fairfield upsetting mid-major power Towson and Quinnipac beating Stephen F Austin at a neutral site today, the MAAC is getting a nice little bump over the holiday. It's not just Iona, you guys.
Congrats to Dan Engelstad for getting his first career NEC win in league play, and he got it versus Wagner in the Spiro Center no less! Wagner was 21-4 at home over the past two seasons going into tonight.
Well… they were 2-3 injuries away from shutting the program down for the rest of the season.
Just a great job of Copeland and his staff for getting 7 scholarship guys thru 2+ months without losing more.
My wife 10 minutes ago: "I feel like 65% of your mood is based on if Sacred Heart wins or loses."
It took her this long in our 9 years of marriage to figure this out?! 😂
Watching Gonzaga/Kansas and this graphic comes up. Complete BS that they don’t have the
@RedFlashMBB
logo displayed after their domination of Pitt. Why put the Pitt logo up and say they lost instead of the opposite?
@NECsports
deserves some love!
For this Merrimack staff comprised of
@JoeyGall0
,
@Phil4G
&
@MickyBurtnyk
to win 2 reg season titles and go 3-0 in the NECT in 4 seasons despite the D1 reclassification process is a remarkable achievement. The efficiency of this 3-man group despite most staffs at 4+ is awesome.
I'm proud that my first feature for
@NECsports
is live: Braxton and Holloway: NEC Family Ties. I really enjoyed researching/writing this,
@Braxton2K
&
@_iwasBorntoBall
are the perfect student-athletes to represent the league: humble, respectful and driven.
I love where Mount St. Mary's is right now. Dan Engelstad deserves a ton of credit for getting his young team - the 2nd youngest nationally - in NECT contention. Could have easy laid down and mailed it in, and yet the Mountaineers have gone 3-1 at SHU/CCSU and vs RMU/Wagner.
There you go. From D2 STAC to D1 FDU to now the guy replacing Rick Pitino at Iona. A well deserved fast track for Tobin Anderson.
Anderson and his dad used to study Pitino’s pressing system at Kentucky - much of Anderson’s scheme at FDU was rooted in Pitino’s coaching.
❗️GAME ADDED❗️
We've added a non-conference game against UMass on Monday, Dec. 21 in Amherst.
Tip is TBD.
The game will air on NESN and ESPN+.
#KEB1
|
#NECMBB
There’s not much you say other than what a March run by
@FDUKnightsMBB
. They have a lot to be proud of.
Got the NEC 2 win shares AND executed the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history 👏
Take a couple weeks off
@andersontobin
and staff, you deserve it 🫡
With KC Ndefo, it should be noted that he entered the transfer portal, looked at his options, and then in the 11th hour returned to Sha & Saint Peter's right before the fall semester. There can be success stories for coaches accepting players back when relationships are strong.
Sacred Heart's Sean Hoehn getting emotional during the NEC Front Row post game interview, and rightfully so. I love watching his maturation from bench player, to starter/role player to bonafide top 10 NEC player. A fantastic career.
I have to congratulate the Bryant players, coaches & fans/alums on this NECT championship! They were clearly the best team on the floor tonight and for the past 2 months. I’m happy for my followers, not the trolls of course - as a SHU alum I can appreciate the joy you’re feeling.
I really enjoyed writing this feature on
@LIUBasketball
's Eral Penn, it's a fascinating story. Terrific
#NECMBB
player but an even better person who's beaten significant challenges to get where he currently is!
Your Isaiah Blackmon for NEC POY service announcement:
Blackmon is 2nd among NEC players in KenPom offensive rating, 1st in 3PT%, 8th in FT%, 5th in TO rate & 8th in steal rate. Arguably his "worst" game in NEC play was at SHU, where he "only" had 14p, 6r, 2a on 5-16 shooting.
NEC tournament career record for active head coaches:
Andy Toole, 14-8
Greg Herenda, 7-4
Rob Krimmel, 7-6
Bashir Mason, 7-7
Derek Kellogg, 5-1
Glenn Braica, 2-9
Anthony Latina, 1-4
Jared Grasso, 0-2
Dan Engelstand, 0-1
Donyell Marshall, 0-1
I always enjoy highlighting the
#NECMBB
's student-athletes and it's hard to find 3 more humble guys than Deniz Celen, Adam Grant and Kinnon LaRose. Here's a feature on how each of them were recruited to their schools.
I don't have a lot of money to invest, but
@andersontobin
if you want to start a search firm that targets elite D2 and D3 coaches for Division I openings, consider me as a minority investor 😉
St. Francis Brooklyn's Glenn Sanabria is such a master at protecting the basketball. He's the only NEC point guard I can find in the KenPom era that had a season w/ a turnover rate under 10.0%. An assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.9!!
You have to appreciate the speed at which Iona moved to hire Pitino’s replacement. Stabilizes the program and (possibly) allows Iona to retain their talent. At the very least Tobin will have a shot to sell them on staying.
I never met Jim Phelan, yet the respect/admiration he garnered from coaches was 2nd to none. Whether it was from his family (Jamion, Dan, Milan) or from competitors (Dickenman, Bike, etc.), they were so appreciative of what he built and how it was done w/ class & integrity. RIP🙏
So now that the whole country knows Tobin Anderson’s D2 roots and his instant success in the NEC, UNH has to hire Jack Perri, right? It’s a no brainer, he’s already proven at both levels!
What a season from
@SHU_MensHoops
. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved watching the freshmen contribute. Loved watching Spellman & Anosike dominate. Loved watching the maturation of Sean Hoehn, a true Pio. Loved the bench play. This one stings for sure, but I'm excited for the future.
I’m here doing research before the game as Bryant’s going thru its walk-through. Grasso huddles the team at center court, points over in my direction and stays something like “that guy and lots of others picked Wagner to win it this year.”
Glad I can serve as motivation 😂
Thinking back to 2015-16 Sacred Heart, that was a really good team! Cane Broome (Soph), Quincy McKnight/Sean Hoehn (Fr), Jordan Allen/Tevin Falzon as Sr frontcourt, Buovac off the bench. Had everyone stayed that backcourt in 2017-18 would've been ridiculous. A man can dream....
Radz is turning into one of my favorite Pioneers. Just love his swagger/confidence and for him to come off the bench and drop 32 points in his last 2 games shows his maturity. It's amazing how much better the Pioneers guard play is from a season ago
I wrote a post comparing two great
#NECMBB
championship programs: the 2008 & 2021
@MountHoops
squad. A lot of similarities that goes beyond Will Holland & Dan Engelstad. And '08 HC Milan Brown is always great to talk to!
Very interesting. My main takeaway is the high level D2 talent translates up to the NEC/Division I level. Expect more NEC coaches to look into this source for finding ready to play transfers.
Really interesting times at the top of the NEC.
Fairleigh Dickinson, who went 4-22 last season, is the only team in the top three of the league who is eligible for the NCAA Tournament. Tobin Anderson is killing it.
The other two are transitioning to D1. Merrimack & Stonehill.
Not the ending they wanted, but
@FDU_MBB
has a lot to be proud of this season! Getting the win in Dayton and competing on the biggest stage is the perfect way to send off Darnell Edge and Mike Holloway. Exceptional student athletes who went dancing 2x in their storied careers.
Wagner got blitzed by a Bryant team that was as locked defensively as I’ve ever seen in the NECT. Hall Elisias (8 blocks) was an enormous difference maker protecting the rim.
But Wagner shouldn’t hang their heads - it was a tremendous season for Bashir Mason and his players.
From 1-4 in the league to NEC champs. What a remarkable run by Bashir Mason and his team to win 12 of their last 13 games. The
#NECMBB
tournament must go thru the Spiro Center!
At MSG for the Big East tourney today, wearing my SHU basketball pullover. Guy in the security line, who graduated as a Pio, asked if I coach the team 😂
Long story short, we both proclaimed our love for Cam Parker 👍
Saint Francis has the NEC POY (Keith Braxton), a former NEC Most Improved Player (Andre Wolford), an all-conference first teamer (Jamaal King) and in my opinion one of the best playmakers in the league (Isaiah Blackmon). So yeah, pick the Red Flash as the trendy upset.
Upset! Upset! Wagner does it again, knocking off a A10 opponent. 10-2 run to close out regulation to tie it, and then Donald Copeland’s squad closes it out in OT! What a start for Copeland! 👀
#NECMBB
#SHU
is proud to announce a premier hockey arena coming to our Fairfield campus! The new on-campus facility will offer a variety of popular features and amenities.
Read the full story:
#WeAreSHU
@SHUBigRed
@SHUHockey
Wagner is pretty good, you guys!
Seahawks were +18 on the glass against an A10 school in their 14-point upset. I believe Wagner lead for the entire 2nd half too. A wonderful effort at VCU and a great start to the season.
I finished up a Rob Krimmel feature for the NEC Tournament program. It came out well, and I appreciate the time everyone took to interview. Everyone said what a special place Loretto is.
Hopefully if you're onsite for an NECT game, you'll purchase a program to read my article!
One of the most selfless players in the NEC currently. LaRose honestly won't care about the double double, he's just happy the team got their third straight win.
Wow,
@NECsports
just smoked the Big West in
@3X3UHoops
! Sean Hoehn and Romone Saunders were lethal from behind the arc - I came in late but counted 7 combined makes (14 points) from long distance. Get that money!
As a SHU alum, I'm proud of Quincy McKnight tonight. He had a game (18p, 4a, 3r) on arguably the biggest stage at MSG in the BE semis. I never want to see Pios transfer out, but I'm still rooting for them to succeed. And McKnight's made the most of his opportunity in 2018-19.
Mount St Mary’s, man oh man! What a game plan. What an upset. Just a complete team effort - Chong Qui, Offurum, Opoku, Jefferson were all awesome in the championship victory.
I'm happy for everyone at Merrimack, but especially for one of my favorite Pioneers to watch on the court,
@Phil4G
! Remarkable job by these coaches, and remember there were only 3 of them!
While it ended on a down note last night, major props to Chris Kraus and
@StonehillBball
for a great conference season. 10-6 and at the very least will finish tied for 2nd place. Exceeded everyone’s expectations in year 1 at the Division 1 level.
I wanted to create a
#NECMBB
thread to give a shout out to the seniors who's college basketball careers have officially ended. I'm keeping this to impact guys who've been with their respective program for at least 3 seasons - that kind of longevity tends to be rare these days.
I worked a 3 AM to 9 AM shift this morning, got in the car and drove to Brookyln and spent 2 hours talking to coaches at NEC Media Day. You can't knock the hustle...
Swing and a miss from the Westwood One preview show - first you have Doug Gottieb messing up Damian Chong Qui’s personal story and then the other guy saying Chong Qui is 5’5”. Not difficult to get these kind of facts correct, even as an outsider. 🤦♂️
The more I watch Saint Francis this non-conference season, the more I like them. Josh Cohen is emerging into a leading big, Myles Thompson looks good and the guard play is very solid. Top 4 NEC is not a stretch.
Very appreciative of
@Och_meech
telling me his story and for
@andersontobin
’s time as I wrote this piece on Demetre’s journey from Mount Vernon to STAC to FDU. I also had some fun w/ creating a top 5 list of D2 transfers who have impacted the
#NECMBB
.
John Gallagher has an open lawsuit against a Board of Regents member at Hartford. Felt awkward that Gal would serve in the final year of his contract in 2022-23, and now we know that won’t occur. A sad ending to a sad story.
Worth noting that former LIU coach and NEC champion Jack Perri is making some noice in the highly competitive NE-10 (D2) as SNHU’s head coach. His team knocked off
#7
Bentley last week and is currently tied for 2nd in the NE-10 standings.
That Mount defense with a legendary performance - Wagner struggled tremendously with their length, defensive discipline and athleticism. That was impressive!
Merrimack's freshman Malik Edmead is ridiculously quick. That first step isn't containable in the NEC.
He originally was going to redshirt (pre-pandemic), but given the free year, Edmead beefs up Joe Gallo's backcourt immediately.
Yesterday I submitted my 20-year profile piece on the 2001-02 CCSU championship team. 2,500+ words with quotes from Howie Dickenman,
@corsley1947
, Ron Robinson,
@AnthonyLatina
and others. Looking forward to seeing it in the NEC tournament program and Overtime! Blog come March.
Sorry I just find it hilarious when fans tweet at student athletes “to recruit” after their portal announcements. I know it’s mostly harmless but I’m still waiting for the moment when a player thanks
@tigerfan_3658
for making him aware of the program he ended up transferring to.
In all, I've written 403 posts for NYC Buckets. That may seem a little light over ~5 years, but the vast majority of those were more than 800 words each. I always tried to cram as much information into my analysis, stories and opinions as I could.
NEC Standings after 1/20/20:
1) Merrimack, 6-1
2) RMU, 5-1
3) SFU, 5-2
T4) Mount, 4-2
T4) LIU, 4-2
6) SHU, 3-3
T7) SFBK, 2-4
T7) Wagner, 2-4
T7) FDU, 2-4
10) Bryant, 1-4
11) CCSU, 0-7
Just as we all expected, Merrimack in first! Mount surging and RMU/SFU in good shape 1/3 in.
Wow! What a half for Bryant - 1.23 ppp offensively, shooting 62% from the field and just having their way in every facet of the game.
And yes, Kiss was yapping at me in the middle of the 1st half. I love it, and honestly, and I’m not that important 😂
The last 4 years for Greg Herenda at FDU:
2 NCAA tournament berths
1 NEC regular season title (tied)
7-2 in the NEC tournament
48-33 (0.593) in the league play
Forget Fordham and their ineptitude. Let's talk about how Jared Grasso in year 2 at Bryant, with a roster sans his presumed starting frontcourt of Pride and Townes, went into Rose Hill and beat an A10 school and I'm not even that surprised by it. NEC contender.
Rob Higgins!!
Yes the Rob Higgins that played for Glenn Braica for 4 years and transferred down the school where Braica’s friend Greg Herenda is on the coaching staff. What a moment for the graduate senior!
Win or lose tomorrow, I hope the country gets a glimpse of Braxton and he becomes a national figure as a Red Flash senior. For someone to reasonably approach 2,000 career points & 1,000 career rebounds after getting crickets during DI recruitment in high school is insane.
This is my favorite
@RedFlashMBB
stat going into tomorrow's
@necbbt
final:
Keith Braxton is 21st in total rebounds (9.7 rpg) for all Division I players. He's only one of 2 players in the top 25 of total rebounds that stands at 6'5 or shorter.
#NEC19
Robert Morris now has a chokehold on getting to the
#1
seed in the NEC tournament with 6 left to play. Only chance now, it seems, is if SFU sweeps the season series on RMU, which has happened before. But at 10-2 in NEC play, the Colonials are looking really good.
Iona returns Gist, Agee & Crawford as all MAAC all-conference guys IMO, not to mention the steady Perez, followed by a treasure trove of transfer talent. They are the New England Patriots of the MAAC - must be picked first until they no longer get to the NCAAT.