Saint Joseph's
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Well, Penn has finally fallen all the way into last place in the Schuylkill 16. And these ballots were cast before last night's desultory 78-60 loss to Albany at the Palestra, which sank the Quakers' record to 0-6.
But if there's a glimmer of light to be found on 33rd Street, it comes from Franklin Field. Ray Priore, the defensive coordinator for Penn's football team, is up for FootballScoop.com's Division I-AA National Coordinator of the Year award.
(Yes, the website actually uses the phrase "Division I-AA," which is great to see.)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Before we get to this week's rankings, a few quick notes. First of all, it looks like voters were definitely paying attention to Rider's win over St. Joe's. 10 of this week's ballots had the Broncs ranked higher than the Hawks.
We ignore Rider sometimes because they play in the MAAC, but I would not be surprised to see them make Siena and Niagara sweat a bit at the top of the league standings.
Second, I got rid of the Progression graph because I realized it was useless.
And third, as we get ready for Drexel-Villanova tonight, let's take a moment to recognize a city rivalry game taking place at tonight at the other end of the state. Duquesne and Pittsburgh will meet in the last ever college basketball game to be played at Mellon Arena.
The two teams play every year, but this will be the first time since the 2001-02 season that the "City Game" will be contested on a neutral floor.
John Perrotto has more perspective on the game and traces the rivalry's history in this morning's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
The game will be broadcast on CBS College Sports. If you have the channel, it will be worth checking out.
And join me from courtside at the Pavilion for live coverage of Drexel-Villanova starting at around 6:45.
1. Villanova, 15 points (15 first-place votes)
- "Villanova remains perfect among a group of teams that are anything but. A visit to Maryland on Sunday will be a real test to see if 'Nova can be title contenders." (Max Wheeling)
- "I'd love for the Hawks to be the first ones to take down the Wildcats, but I like the Terps' chances more." (Brian O'Neill)
- "Big Mouf's gone, but they get Redding back soon. Are we looking at another 4 guard line-up or will Redding/Stokes come off the bench?" (Nick Catrambone)
2. Temple, 33 points
- "Who knew that the best replacement for Dionte Christmas would be the Temple defense?" (Mike Birnbaum)
3. La Salle, 55 points
4. Penn State, 62 points
- "The Temple-Penn State game will give us a clear indication who should sit behind 'Nova in the poll." (Mike Birnbaum)
5. Rider, 85 points
- "Rider has taken down one Big Five team (St. Joes), but a tougher task awaits next week vs. La Salle. Ryan Thompson vs. Rodney Green will be worth the ticket. (Steve Rudenstein, Rider basketball radio announcer)
6. Saint Joseph's, 86 points
- "SJU's December schedule: @Cornell, Villanova, @Minnesota, Lehigh, @Siena. 5-0!! By the way, this Kool-Aid is delicious." (Brian O'Neill)
- "The fact that I still have the Hawks at #6 is a testament to how awful some of these teams are." (Todd Falkenberg)
7. Rutgers, 107 points
- "This is the only 16-team grouping Rutgers will finish in the top half of this season." (Jeff Shafer)
8. Drexel, 113 points
- "My favorite part of today's deadline is that it hints to the Villanova-Drexel game being mildly compelling. Villanova will win this game by 30 points." (Todd Falkenberg)
9. Bucknell, 159 points
10. Lehigh, 165 points
11. Princeton, 172 points
12. Lafayette, 178 points
13. Delaware, 190 points
- "I don't care if it was on the road. A loss to Delaware State drops you to #17." (Nick Catrambone)
14. Penn, 204 points
- "Still winless, but Bernardini is hurt. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for one more week." (Nick Catrambone)
- "A visit from Albany should snap the only winless team in the S16." (Max Wheeling)
- "I can't in good conscience vote them ahead of any of the 15 others that have, you know, a win." (Jeff Shafer)
I get the intent, but you could interpret that as the opposite if you wanted...
15. Monmouth, 206 points
16. Delaware State, 210 points
- "I wanted to ranked them below Kutztown, but Del St. has beaten more D2 schools." (Nick Catrambone)
Write-ins
Kutztown State
- "The 12th ranked D2 school has to be better than one of these teams, right?" (Nick Catrambone)
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
I figure one or two of you might be sitting around this morning looking for something to read before stuffing yourselves full of poultry and bread crumbs. So here, a few hours later than I hoped, is the latest edition of the Schuylkill 16.
Best wishes to all of you for a happy Thanksgiving, whether your ball of choice is black and orange or black and white. I'm covering no fewer than eight games this weekend, starting with a tripleheader Friday at the Philly Classic. There will be coverage of each, and live blogging of games involving the City Six schools. I hope you'll join me.
Friday, November 25
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
This isn't really a preseason version of the poll, because the season is already underway. And it's not really fair to call it a Week 1 poll, because there hasn't been a full week of games yet for all the teams.
So we're going to call this the Opening Week edition of the Schuylkill 16. The next edition of the rankings will appear here on Wednesday, Nov. 25. We'll call that Week 3, and go from there.
It's not easy to do a ranking at this point in the season because we have so little information to work from. But we have plenty of comments to make up for it.
We also have what I will politely call an outlier in the first-place voting. Make fun of him as you wish.
On a less light note, I've added a new feature this year that I'm calling the Progression. It's a bit math-heavy, but I think it's sort of interesting. It works something like this.
Theoretically, if every voter cast the exact same ballot, the progression of points (thus the title) would be a straight line. Multiply the number of voters times one for the first place team, times two for the second place team, and so forth.
The chart that you'll displays the progression of points from the ballots that were cast compared to that straight line. I think it's got some kind of official name, but I haven't taken a math class in a really long time. If you know, post something in the comments.
Finally, a special thanks to the many new voters out there. Tf you want to join the party, just email me. The more the merrier.
I'll be back at around 6:45 for live coverage of Drexel at St. Joe's from courtside at Hagan Arena. See you then.
1. Villanova, 29 points (26 first-place votes)
- "You can pencil in #1 for 'Nova all season long. There is no team in the area better than the Wildcats." (Mike Birnbaum)
- "Has a lot of pressure on them with the pre-season No. 1 pick in the Big East." (Ryan Wixted)
- "A lot of expectations this year, but they won't need another Final Four run to stay #1 in this poll. This could be the only team in the S16 to make the tournament." (Nick Catrambone)
Agree or disagree?
- "If Villanova legitimately drops out of the top spot in this poll, I'll jump in the Schuylkill." (Neil Fanaroff)
And there's your pith of the week.
2. Temple, 84 points
- "Really curious to see how they handle the first couple of weeks. Ryan Brooks and Lavoy Allen are going to have to step up the scoring with the loss of Dionte Christmas." (Ryan Wixted)
- "Depending on how well Brooks and Allen take the lead Temple's season could go south. (Max Wheeling)
- "It's going to be fun getting to watch Juan Fernandez for a full season. Might be the most exciting player in the area." (Mike Birnbaum)
Shall we start handicapping the Geasey Award now?
- "Unfortunately for Fran and gang, Christmas only came for 4 years." (Fred David)
3. La Salle, 110 points
- "Aaric Murray could put La Salle back into the post-season this year." (Mike Birnbaum)
- "In my mind, the Explorers have the best shot at finishing second in the S-16 this year." (Josh Wheeling)
- "Dr. John has his best team yet at La Salle. An at-large bid in the tourney is a stretch but it's a step in the right direction for the program." (Nick Catrambone)
- "Giannini's fingerprints are all over this team and he finally has the right pieces in place to make a run in the A-10." (Ryan Wixted)
- "La Salle will beat Villanova and return to the NCAA tournament." (Charlie Wohlrab)
That would be quite a result, wouldn't it? The teams meet Nov. 28 at the Pavilion.
4. Penn State, 112 points
- "Penn State could be a real sleeper in the Big Ten this year." (Terrence D.)
- "Wins in the Big Ten will be hard to come by this year, so a lot will have to go right for another 10-8 conference record." (Nick Catrambone)
5. Saint Joseph's, 154 points
- "It's going to be a rough year in a tough A-10 for the Hawks. Govens and Williamson are a nice backcourt, but they'll need others to step up for St. Joe's to have a respectable season." (Nick Catrambone)
- "The loss of Nivins and Carr will lead to a significant drop off for St. Joseph's and lead to a fairly one-sided Holy War." (Max Wheeling)
- " I think they can make a run late and hang in a competitive A-10." (Ryan Wixted)
6. Rutgers, 185 points
- "I think they're trying to hide something from us: 10 straight home games against cupcakes to open the year. Whatever success they have early will end in January, another year at the bottom of the Big East for the Scarlet Knights." (Nick Catrambone)
7. Drexel, 187 points
8. Penn, 235 points
- "Penn's margin of defeat for their two games this weekend might be 70. Just once I'd like to be the big dog opening the season against a cupcake." (Neil Fanaroff)
- "I can feel it in the air; this is the year for the Quakers!" (Fred David)
In basketball or women's lacrosse?
9. Rider, 248 points
- "I probably have Rider way too high, but I like that first place vote they got in the MAAC preseason poll." (Brian O'Neill)
- "Great non-conference challenges for Rider in November with trips to Mississippi State, Virginia, Kentucky, and Cancun. Talk about scheduling tough. I can't wait to work on my tan in Cancun!" (Steve Rudenstein)
A special welcome to Steve, who is the Broncs' radio broadcaster.
10. Princeton, 276 points
11. Delaware, 297 points
12. Lehigh, 299 points
- "Can someone explain the difference to me between Lehigh and Lafayette? Is it the same school? I've always been confused by this." (Terrence D.)
The one hosts Eagles training camp and the other hosts Crayola. Right?
13. Bucknell, 303 points
- "They might be the biggest team in the Patriot League, but I'm not sure if there's enough talent." (Nick Catrambone, who has clearly done his homework)
14. Lafayette, 369 points
- "The biggest question mark in the S16." (Nick Catrambone, again)
15. Monmouth, 389 points
16. Delaware State, 399 points
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Saint Joseph's held its men's basketball media day this afternoon on Hawk Hill, and as you would expect, there was a big cluster of reporters gathered around Phil Martelli from the very start.
The first few minutes of converstation were about Hagan Arena, the sparkling new edition of what used to be Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. But then came a question about matters on the floor, as Martelli was asked if "the challenge is any greater than in past years."
And we were off to the races, as Dick Jerardi might say.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
Returning to college basketball a bit faster than I thought we would...
The Big 5 just announced its 2010 Hall of Fame class, and it's a big one: John Chaney, Rollie Massimino and Speedy Morris.
You knew they'd all be inducted at some point, but to have it happen in the same year is quite something.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
One of the nice things about the summer lull in college sports news is that I get to catch up on all the magazines I didn’t have time to read during the spring.
That includes the April issue of Basketball Times, in which Hoop Scoop’s Clark Francis ranked the 50 best head coaches in college basketball. Lists like these are always great for starting conversations, so let’s have at it.
Francis doesn’t say much about his criteria, except that Rick Pitino tops the list “based on the way the Cardinals played this season.” The column was also written before the NCAA Tournament, which might be why Roy Williams came in second.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
We finally have the answer to the season's last big question: Ahmad Nivins of St. Joe's has won the Robert V. Geasey Trophy as the Big 5's Most Outstanding Player.
You could argue for Dionte Christmas, and I would have if asked to vote at the end of the regular season. You could argue for Dante Cunningham, and if ballots were cast this week he'd probably have won it.
But regardless of timing, if you take either of them off their respective teams would it have anywhere near the kind of impact as St. Joe's without Nivins? No.
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
A press release from the Big 5 just landed in my inbox announcing this season's winners of a bunch of awards given out by the Herb Good Basketball Club. The highest-profile of them was Villanova coach Jay Wright, who won the Harry Litwack Award for Eastern College Coach of the Year.
Wildcats forward Dante Cunningham won the George Paull Award for the Big 5's Most Improved Player, and Penn's Zack Rosen, who won the Dave Zinkoff Award for Big 5 Rookie of the Year.
That Rosen won the Zinkoff award surprises me somewhat, as I thought it would go to Juan Fernandez. Then again, Fernandez didn't play the full season.
The only other freshmen in the Big 5 who got significant minutes were Bryant Irwin and Chris Prescott of St. Joe's. While both contributed, I think we can fairly say that Rosen and Fernandez were at the top of this year's rookie class.
This is the second straight year that a Penn player has won the Zinkoff Award. Tyler Bernardini won it last season.
The Big 5 Player of the Year award has not been announced. I don't know when it will come but my guess is tomorrow.
Other award winners include:
- Cy Kaselman Award (Big 5's most accurate foul shooter): Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
- Palumbo Award (Big 5's top scorer): Dionte Christmas, Temple (19.5 points per game/662 total)
- Harry Merrill Sportsmanship Award: Kevin Egee, Penn
- Eddie Gottlieb Award (Outstanding 76er): Andre Iguodala
- High School Standouts: Cameron Ayers (Germantown Academy), Maalik Wayns (Roman Catholic), Denzel Yard (Franklin Learning Center), Dalton Pepper (Pennsbury High)
- All-Philadelphia Area Player of the Year (non-Division I): Malcolm Ingram, Philadelphia University
- All-Philadelphia Area Squad (non-Division I): Malcolm Ingram (Philadelphia University), Dominique Curry (Cheyney), Russell Frederick (Philadelphia University), Ralph Hegamin (West Chester), Charles Jones (Widener), Kevin Misevicius (Cabrini), John Noonan (Ursinus) Dave Smith (Gwynedd-Mercy).
By the way, I'm going to be liveblogging the Phillies game tomorrow afternoon here on Philly.com, starting at around 2:45. I hope you'll join me (though we'll have to keep the talk to baseball, at least for most of the game).
Jonathan Tannenwald, Philly.com
The morning after Selection Sunday is always one of my favorite times of the college basketball season.
Even though it usually follows a night with far too little sleep, the reward for getting up before sunrise is a trip to the Palestra for the Coaches vs. Cancer March Madness Tip-Off Breakfast.
We talk all the time about the sense of community that exists among the City Six schools, but this day more than any other is when it is made clear to the region and the nation.
The breakfast brings together coaches, administrators and hundreds of fans, and as you walk down the ramp to the arena floor it seems like everyone in the building knows each other by first name.
In addition to a range of fundraising activites for Coaches vs. Cancer, the highlight of the morning is hearing Final Four picks from all six of the region's coaches and a panel of local media members.
This year's media panel included Howard Eskin, Joe Juliano, Dick Jerardi, Mike Kern, Dei Lynam and Harry Donahue.
As happens every year, I tried to record it, and as happens in more years than I would like, my audio recorder bombed during the recording. So I give you some transcribed highlights from what I could recover.
Eskin started by complimenting Fran Dunphy's mother for cheering La salle when the Explorers beat Temple, then picked Alabama State to win the play-in game and Memphis to make the Final Four "because I'm always a John Calipari guy because all the coaches here can't stand him except Bruiser."
"The one thing that I can go against here," Eskin continued, "because Phil [Martelli] thinks North Carolina's going to win the national championship, they're out. Phil never wins these things. Never."
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
