Tag: Glenn Braica

North Florida 78, St. Francis Brooklyn 65 : Three Thoughts

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The last time reigning Atlantic Sun champions North Florida saw a team from the NEC, it was on a neutral court, just as it was Saturday at Hartford’s Chase Family Arena.

Of course, there were quite a few more people in attendance back in March when Robert Morris upended North Florida in an NCAA Tournament play-in game. It could have been St. Francis Brooklyn with a break here or there in the NEC finals, remember.

But a season later, North Florida – with most of its core group returning – appears ready to make a return NCAA run, while the Terriers – like most of the NEC – are still trying to find their way, as the Ospreys scored a whopping 1.63 points per possession in the first half to build a huge lead and coasted to a 78-65 win in front of about 100 diehards on a neutral floor.

Continue reading “North Florida 78, St. Francis Brooklyn 65 : Three Thoughts” →

Work To Do For St. Francis Brooklyn, But Time Too

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Glenn Braica had seen the season-opening movie he was watching Saturday afternoon at Boston College before. Fortunately, he knows it probably it’s quite as bad as it looked.

Defending NEC regular season champion St. Francis Brooklyn missed its first 13 shots from the field and went 8:28 without scoring a point to open the season, and never really recovered, getting blown out 75-49 at Conte Forum.

It was eerily similar to Glenn Braica’s first game in charge of the Terriers five years ago when Boston College raced to a 24-2 start and led 38-15 at the break en route to a 79-49 rout. St. Francis Brooklyn scored just 15 points and shot just 5-27 from the field that day. Saturday, after that opening drought, St. Francis finished 5-29 from the field in the first half and trailed 41-16 at the intermission.

Continue reading “Work To Do For St. Francis Brooklyn, But Time Too” →

Is St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tyreek Jewell Underrated?

A few weeks ago, I posted my Way Too Early NEC All-Conference Teams thoughts. Given the turnover and roster youth in the NEC, narrowing down my top 15 players of 2015-16 was rather difficult. In particular, one player heading into his senior season, St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tyreek Jewell, wasn’t really considered as a candidate by yours truly. But after interviewing head coach Glenn Braica nearly two weeks ago, I’m starting to have serious doubts. Continue reading “Is St. Francis Brooklyn’s Tyreek Jewell Underrated?” →

Should Iona And St. Francis Brooklyn Have Gotten Automatic NCAA Bids?

The meaning and definition of justice has been debated all the way back to the time of noted fan of the Eurostep, Socrates, and has had various definitions across the millennia.

Sports are a good testing ground for justice and ethics. They are games, after all, not matters of life and death (not that Socrates would have made a huge distinction) which by all rights should not be important enough to cheat, steal, or do any of those underhanded things that people have used to oppress, impress, and depress others through the ages.

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Two More Hurdles Left For St. Francis Brooklyn After Beating LIU

Two more hurdles.

Had he been wired with a lie detector, St. Francis Brooklyn coach Glenn Braica may or may not have set off all kinds of alarms after Wednesday night’s 79-70 NEC quarterfinal victory over rival LIU Brooklyn when he said, “I don’t even know what Tuesday is. I’m just thinking about Saturday.”

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Three Thoughts: St. Francis Brooklyn 71, Sacred Heart 62

Perhaps the only thing with more of a consensus in the NEC than Jalen Cannon winning Player of the Year is Glenn Braica being the guy fellow coaches would love to see win if they can’t. But even Braica – one of the best guys in college basketball – can sometimes reach, maybe not a breaking point, let’s call it a bending point. Continue reading “Three Thoughts: St. Francis Brooklyn 71, Sacred Heart 62” →