Value Added in the MAAC

Next season is shaping up to be a really interesting one in the MAAC. Out of the 10 teams in the conference six will be legitimate postseason candidates and at least three could do damage in the NCAA Tournament if they make it that far.

The first step in evaluating who might come out on top of that logjam is taking a look at returning players. Most observers think that since Iona is returning Michael Glover and Scott Machado the Gaels are the team to beat, but looking at the value added for returning players gives a different result.

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Iona featured in ESPN’s offseason coverage

Iona is getting some love in ESPN’s offseason coverage right now. The Gaels weren’t given a long write up in Fran Fraschilla’s post about breakthrough teams, but they were mentioned along with a few other teams as one that could “enjoy postseason success next season.”

Other the other hand, Iona is listed as the MAAC champion in Joe Lunardi’s latest bracket. St. Peter’s isn’t in the bracket, but interestingly it is one of the bubble teams in Lunardi’s “Also considered” list.

Welcome Paul Hewitt to the CAA

It’s not often you get fired and actually end up coaching a better team, but that’s exactly what happened to Paul Hewitt. After finishing 13-18 (5-11 in the ACC) Hewitt was relieved of his duties at Georgia Tech. Still, he managed to land on his feet with a sweet gig at George Mason after Jim Larranaga left for Miami.

Hewitt was known at Tech for underachieving teams. It might seem odd then that he was chosen to lead a Patriots team that is expected to be in the Top 25 in the nation next season.

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Best players coming to a gym near you

Recruiting is picking up steam at the moment and Justin D. Young over at the National Hoops Report recently posted a list of the top incoming players for each conference.

It’s an entertaining undertaking that probably took quite a bit of research for a few conferences where you won’t find McDonald’s All-Americans or even Top 100 recruits via any service. None of the NYC schools were represented, but here are some talented freshman that will be playing for the visiting teams next season.

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Manhattan’s hiring of Ferry continues upwardly mobile MAAC

The MAAC continued to show that it’s going to be an upwardly mobile league in terms of coaching candidates with the hiring of former Long Island head coach Jim Ferry. Ferry was 98-134 with the Blackbirds before this season, but a 27-6 record and his second Jim Phelan Coach of the Year award made him a hot commodity in coaching circles. Ferry’s LIU teams played an exciting version of basketball and finished third in adjusted tempo in the NCAA and made the NCAA Tournament. The draws for Manhattan are pretty obvious.

Unlike the situation we looked at yesterday, this isn’t a lateral move in terms of competition either. The Northeastern Conference finished 25th amongst the 31 conferences that receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament in Ken Pomeroy, whereas the MAAC was 16th. It will definitely be a challenge for Ferry. What’s really interesting about the move is that it doesn’t appear to come with any more financial resources, but, considering the effort Fairfield put into getting Sydney Johnson and Manhattan snatching up Ferry, maybe that’s about to change.

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Sydney Johnson moves from Princeton to Fairfield

The movement of Princeton head coach Sydney Johnson to Fairfield appears to be a little outside of the scope of this site, but it actually brings to light something interesting about two conferences I’ll be covering moving forward. (And the schools missed being included here by about 30 minutes each.) But first let’s get one thing straight, this move isn’t about going to a “better” conference, despite what people will write.

The MAAC and the Ivy League are fairly comparable. For instance, here’s a look at the Ken Pomeroy and Sagarin ratings for both leagues this season:

Ivy: 15th conference in KenPom, 15th in Sagarin
MAAC: 16th conference in KenPom, 15th in Sagarin

Yes, the Ivy League was helped by the emergence of both Princeton and Harvard this season, but the bottom of the MAAC is really the anchor. Schools like Manhattan, Niagara and Marist totalled 11 conference wins between the three of them. The Ivy League’s Ancient Eight has a smaller pool to draw from, and thus the futility of Dartmouth failed to anchor down the conference.

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Postseason Preview: Iona vs. East Tennessee State

Iona heads to Johnson City, Tennessee to take on East Tennessee State in the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament on Saturday afternoon in a game that pits two talented mid-major teams from the MAAC and Atlantic Sun. The Gaels were probably the best team besides Maryland to not receive an NIT invitation and they’ve done nothing to discredit that reputation since postseason play began. Iona went on the road to Valparaiso and came away with a convincing victory and then took out Buffalo at home on Tuesday.

That’s why Iona is actually favored in this game by Ken Pomeroy’s rankings by exactly one point, 72-71 (57%), even on the road. Of course ETSU has some strengths as well. The Buccaneers recorded two convincing victories over Furman and Ohio on their way to semifinals, but neither of those teams is even close to the same level as Iona. That said, the Basketball State rankings on BBState, have Iona 67th and ETSU 60th. So this seems to be a game between two pretty evenly matched squads.

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