Post by Tony on Dec 14, 2018 8:03:21 GMT -5
As we close in on end of non conf portion of schedule, still hard to handicap the MAAC. To be honest most of the teams stink. Rider still looks like team to beat, but they in no way look invincible. Bottom of conf looks like Monmouth, Manhattan and probably SPC. Iona hasn’t looked good and in most years I would write them off, but with the MAAC being so weak, Gaels could surprise, although Iona’s talent level is down considerably from what we have seen the last 6 years or so, they still have enough talent to make serious run in MAAC and a probable top 4 team. . Dunn has a lot of seniors at Marist and Red foxes tentatively look to be top 4 team. Canisius has really underperformed, but again they have some talent and could be a force in MAAC. Niagara has been up and down, they look to be middle MAAC team, same with Quinny.
Hard to handicap Siena- as things stand right now Saints could finish anywhere from 4 to 8, probably a middle MAAC team fighting it out with Quinny, Niagara, FF for position. Of course wild card for Saints is Elijah Burns. If he is deemed eligible Jan 1st he will play entire MAAC schedule, if Jan 6th he’ll miss first two MAAC game. While Elijah will help with our front court athleticism, defense and rebounding, at ACC level he wasn’t a big scorer. Of course big difference between being guarded by 6’9” athletic ACC forwards and MAAC caliber big men. Elijah will have a size or speed advantage ( or both) over just about every MAAC big man. The Challenge Siena staff will have is how to integrate Burns into lineup without affecting Fisher and Degnan’s offense much. Both of whom are limited defensively but have given us much needed offense. It’s no secret bottom of playing rotation hasn’t really given us anything? So adding a quality player to rotation will only help. But even with Burns Saints is still a guard away from being serious contenders. How the staff handles Elijah ( if he is eligible ) will go a long way toward determining how the Saints finish this year. If Burns is eligible and coaching staff can successfully integrate him into lineup ( no slam dunk) Saints could challenge for top 5 finish , without Burns probably looking at 6,7 or 8th place finish. As I have said before MAAC better get Saints this year. Next year Saints are definite threat for MAAC title and top 3 MAAC team. Thoughts how do you see MAAC shaping up this year?
Hard to handicap Siena- as things stand right now Saints could finish anywhere from 4 to 8, probably a middle MAAC team fighting it out with Quinny, Niagara, FF for position. Of course wild card for Saints is Elijah Burns. If he is deemed eligible Jan 1st he will play entire MAAC schedule, if Jan 6th he’ll miss first two MAAC game. While Elijah will help with our front court athleticism, defense and rebounding, at ACC level he wasn’t a big scorer. Of course big difference between being guarded by 6’9” athletic ACC forwards and MAAC caliber big men. Elijah will have a size or speed advantage ( or both) over just about every MAAC big man. The Challenge Siena staff will have is how to integrate Burns into lineup without affecting Fisher and Degnan’s offense much. Both of whom are limited defensively but have given us much needed offense. It’s no secret bottom of playing rotation hasn’t really given us anything? So adding a quality player to rotation will only help. But even with Burns Saints is still a guard away from being serious contenders. How the staff handles Elijah ( if he is eligible ) will go a long way toward determining how the Saints finish this year. If Burns is eligible and coaching staff can successfully integrate him into lineup ( no slam dunk) Saints could challenge for top 5 finish , without Burns probably looking at 6,7 or 8th place finish. As I have said before MAAC better get Saints this year. Next year Saints are definite threat for MAAC title and top 3 MAAC team. Thoughts how do you see MAAC shaping up this year?