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