Interesting article in the Pittsburgh paper Thursday/courtesy NEC web site

Check out Bobby Jones' comment on MU...


Coaches' preseason poll miscalculated NEC's lot
Thursday, February 08, 2007By Paul Meyer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (prior to Thursday games)

Those Northeast Conference basketball coaches are a hoot, a laugh riot, a joke per minute.
They picked Monmouth to win the league championship this season; the Hawks currently are in eighth place.
Those coaches picked Robert Morris to finish second; the Colonials are in seventh.
They picked Long Island to finish third; the Blackbirds are ninth.
They picked Fairleigh Dickinson to place seventh and Sacred Heart to wind up ninth; they are tied for third.
Those coaches picked Quinnipiac and Central Connecticut State to tie for fourth; those teams stand second and first in the NEC.
"We must be the dumbest predictors in the world," Saint Francis, Pa., coach Bobby Jones said. "We should not buy lottery tickets, that's for sure."
Jones, however, has the dubious distinction of being the one coach whose team almost surely will wind up in its predicted spot. The Red Flash was picked to finish last, and that's where an 1-11 NEC record has Saint Francis.
That gives Jones a unique view of what has happened in the NEC and how it might play out.
Jones first cited Central Connecticut State coach Howie Dickenman's efforts with a team that, for various reasons, dresses only eight players.
"He has eight guys in uniform, and they're sitting there at the top of the league with one loss," said Jones, whose team lost to Central Connecticut State, 80-61, Jan. 4. "I think he does a fantastic job. He's always going to have two or three guys who are tough on both ends of the court -- guys who are men."
Central Connecticut State guards Javier Mojica (16.8 points per game in NEC play) and Tristan Blackwood (15.1) lead the Blue Devils in scoring, but Jones said the toughest Devil is forward Obie Nwadike, a senior who is generously listed at 6 feet 4.
"I think we embellish that a little bit," Dickenman said.
"Central's guards are good," Jones said, "but I said to Howie, 'If we had Obie, I think we could walk through the league.' I think he's that valuable -- to any team. When a kid can get 17 rebounds [in a game], that makes up for a lot of missed 3-pointers.
"Obie Nwadike's the difference. I mean, here's a kid who [will make] all-conference just because of his rebounding. That tells you what kind of respect he has around the league."
Nwadike scored only nine points but had 17 rebounds in the game at Saint Francis. Last season, he averaged 11.7 points and 10.2 rebounds a game. This season, those figures are 13.4 and 10.4.
"All he [does is] rebound his brains out and score," Dickenman said.
The Blue Devils, 11-1 in the NEC, have won nine games in a row since a 64-48 loss Jan. 6 at Robert Morris.
Central Connecticut State has some tough games to play, including one against Quinnipiac (8-4) at home Saturday and another Monday at Sacred Heart (7-4).
"I think Sacred Heart is probably the best team in the league from top to bottom in terms of personnel," Jones said. "They have guys who can shoot the basketball, they have good inside play, they have [forward Joey] Henley who is a tough football-type guy and they have steady guard play."
Then there's Robert Morris (6-6).
"I think no question Robert Morris -- one through five -- is as good as anybody -- especially when Derek Coleman's playing well and A.J. Jackson's playing well," Jones said. "But to win this league, it may take more than five good players. You have to win back-to-back-to-back nights in the postseason. That's difficult to do when you're really counting on three of those five playing extremely well."
There's also Monmouth (5-6), which won the conference tournament championship last season.


"Monmouth, who knows?" Jones said.



Entering the game tonight at Wagner (6-5 and on a three-game winning streak), the Hawks are 5-1 at home and 0-5 on the road in NEC play, including a last-second loss Monday at Fairleigh Dickinson (7-4) in which they squandered an 18-point lead.
"It's wide open," Jones said, "but I wouldn't bet against Central."