Here are my picks for Somerset County Tournament second-round action Saturday:
(Every year I pick at least one major upset at this level and I've never been correct)
9-North Plainfield (46), 8-Mount St. Mary (42)
The Canucks won the first meeting by three points and Noelle Hynes and Lori Nieves are playing too well right now.
10-Immaculata (39), 7-Somerville (36)
When is Somerville going to beat Immaculata? The Pioneers struggles in this rivalry are well documented (1o straight losses and its uglier if you go back further). They might have the better team, but psychological roadblocks can be tough to overcome and the Spartans won the first meeting a few weeks back.
6-Bridgewater-Raritan (51), 11-Pingry (34)
The Panthers won last season's meeting in the first round of the tournament by 28 points and were nowhere near as good of a team as they are right now. That spells trouble for the Big Blue. Do I expect Pingry to lose by 28 or more? No. Do I expect Pingry to win? Definitely not.
AND THE BIG ONE...
12-Hillsborough (66), 5-Gill St. Bernard's (60)
It would mark the second consecutive season that the 12th seed has beaten the fifth seed in this tournament. The only question is whether or not Hillsborough can score enough points to win a high-scoring game because Gill St. Bernard's is going to get its points. My feeling is the Raiders are a team you don't want to play right now, having won three of four, including beating Watchung Hills. And, as one opposing coach said to me this coach, the mere presence of veteran Hillsborough coach Jim Reese is worth a few points on the scoreboard.
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22 comments:
Psychological roadblocks is right for the Pioneers. I have no doubt they are the better team, but the mindset in every girl's mind is "we cannot beat Immaculata". Take that into account with Coach Swan's bizarre coaching and the fact that half the team has been sick this week and you've got yourself the toughest game of the season tomorrow at 6.
A win is long overdue. If they can't do it tomorrow, I say they won't be getting that W for years to come.
Which game are you going to be at?
So far, Ryan's right in two of the four - BR beat Pingry, and Immaculata beat Somerville. The Boro upset over Gill didn't happen - Gill beat Hillsborough. Don't know what happened in the MSM/No. Plainfield game.
No. Plainfield wins.
Well Ryan, as you were there, you saw it happen.
Immaculata has beaten Somerville, again. The fallout from this game is not going to be good, especially off the court. There are rumblings of discontent among parents over the poor coaching. Swan's backcourt press wasn't working and yet he kept doing it, allowing Mulkerin to have a field day offensively. I've never seen the girls look so depressed after the game. This was their year and now that it hasn't happened one has to think if it ever will in the near future.
I was right on three of the four games, but that's not what this post is about....
I've noticed a lot of negative talk about Somerville coach Corby Swan on these posts.
I am not sure if it is all from the same person or several different "anonymous" posts, but I am here to say I think Swan does a very good job.
Somerville is annually the top Group II/Skyland Conference Raritan Division team. Yes, they have never beaten Immaculata during his tenure, but the struggles date back way before then, as in 11 straight 11 losses and 22 of the last 27.
Swan is the type of coach I would have loved to play for as a former high school athlete. He challenges you while still demanding the best from you. I think he does a really good job, rarely losing to a team worse than Somerville.
I usually don't give an opinion on stuff like this, but the Swan bashing is just too regular.
Ryan,
I absolutely adore Swan as a person. I think he is one of the nicest, most motivating people out there.
That being said, last night, while not the entire reason Somerville lost, he was a factor. Did you not notice the press wasn't working? Immaculata kept throwing the ball quickly downcourt, usually into the hands Mulkerin who would score easily. Why wouldn't he stop doing it? I just don't understand, it wasn't working. Also, did you not notice the offense? He continually does the same play over and over again and there is little movement on the inside to try to get open. This was especially apparent in the second quarter when the Pioneers basically just stood there for about 6 minutes passing on the offensive end.
I really just don't understand his coaching. The parents usually sit there dumbfounded. I love the man, but his coaching just absolutely puzzles me.
I totally agree with Dunleavy - Swan is a good coach and knows what he is doing. It came down to the players. Both teams wanted the win bad, but Immaculata came out wanting it more. Lata played with confidence. It was a great effort from both teams. The score was close most of the game and either team could have won.
I was at the game, and I know this is cliche, but it seemed as if Immaculata wanted it more. The offense Somerville ran allowed for no dribble penetration, and essentially required what would have to be a perfect entry pass to a cutter down the middle (which they never hit). Combine this stagnant offense with Immaculata's pressure, the good coaching of Coach Hilgenberg, the poor coaching of Coach Swan, and the missed layups and foul shots by Somerville down the stretch, and you've got all the reasons Lata came away with the W.
The Ville wanted this win so badly, I don't want to hear that Lata wanted it more because it's not true. The stubborn coaching of Swan directly led to the girls' defeat.
The looks on the Somerville girls' faces after the game tells the whole story. The players wanted it so badly and the coaching really let the players down. Sure, the girls missed a few free throws and a layup or two, but so did Immaculata. The first half really killed the Pioneers due to the zone defense employed by Somerville that allowed Doering and Mulkerin easy outside shots. He should have switched to man earlier and they might have had a shot. He needed to realize Mulkerin was their entire offense last night and put her under more pressure.
gill def beat boro.
Big diference between wanting to win and playing as if you expect to win and doing whatever is needed to win. Yes the Somerville girls wanted this win but as the clock was winding down they had a look of 'here we go again' not the sort of thing that will win you close games. Lata came in expecting to win and did a little more of the small things. If Somerville makes a couple more of those open layups and free throws, they win this game but they needed to believe that they can beat this team, until that happens Lata will continue to win these games.
gotta believe that most of these posts are from parents, who only get to see games, . . . not practice. in reading these posts, it is fairly evident that most of these parents never played basketball at any kind of a competive level, if they played at all it is pretty obvious from their posts that they played rec league. coach swan as most really good coaches do, does most of his coaching at pratice. his teams do all the those things that you see well coached teams do: they hit the open man, they box out, they defend every board on the floor, they help out on defense, they seldom take a bad shot. no coach can teach any team how to win. teams have to learn how to win themselves. its a collective experience gained by players in game situations. players either execute or they dont. they either make layups and foul shots or they dont. the players need to look in the mirror and the parents need to just shut up about the coach and start being cheerleaders, ie, . . .support your team no matter what.
Regarding the immediately previous post -- I am not a ville parent or relative; I played at the collegiate level; and I and was at the game on Saturday. I believe the post is correct -- MOST of the work is done at practice. But I strongly disagree with your assessment of the game and the team. from what is saw, they did not box out well -- witness all the rebounds Mulkerin (the shortest player on the floor) was getting. They did not set screens -- in fact, frequently, there were four girls around the arc, and one sitting in the paint, all standing still. They did not defend well, particularly in their zone defense. (Witness the open three pointers lata was able to take.) I sense that this is the frustration in the coach being felt by those close to the situation.
Moreover, frankly, when it came to crunch time, the coach and the team did not coach or play with a necessary sense of urgency. Lata was up 4 with three minutes to go, and they were able to milk their possessions. That's an awareness that has to come from the coach, and be portrayed by the girls. As a totally unbiased observer, I did not see it happen. Swan might be a great guy; I have no reason to believe he is not. But that does not make him a good coach.
Ryan, to your post -- if swan "rarely" loses to a team worse than Somerville, how do you describe this particular game? Somerville was the higher seed, they were playing at home, they had a distinct height advantage, and they had what appeared to me to be at least an equal amount of talent. If this was not a game they SHOULD have won, I don't know what is.
Very very well said. I saw the exact same things occur. If it is one thing I constantly heard the Lata coach yell, it was "box out" and Lata did it well. They also were confident in their play and took advantage of the open shots with no defenders in sight.
That's the biggest problem: there is ZERO offense. The "plays" are let's all stand around the arc and not move at all. Coach Swan also doesn't "believe" in screens - how do you not believe in screens? Therefore, he doesn't teach the girls this vital concept and they don't execute them. They needed to keep driving to the basket like in the first quarter, when they racked up 6 fouls on Immaculata quickly to put them in foul trouble. They stopped doing this in the first quarter.
The zone defense is another thing. Although I will say in the first meeting Lata was hitting no outside shots but then again the two girls who hit them this time barely played in the first game (Mulkerin and Doering). He didn't switch to man until the second half, but by then the damage was done. He needed to switch almost immediately into the game - I believe one of the Lata girls hit a 3 in the first 10 seconds.
That being said, a LOT of foul shots were missed - Somerville is usually a very good foul shooting team. Also, two steals that should have been easy layups were missed, but one of them was an obvious foul that was a no-call. Also also, Mulkerin is a great shooter, but she walked and carried all over the place and I don't think any of it was called.
I meant to say they stopped drawing the foul in the second quarter.
Ryan,
I went back and checked the record of Somerville over the past few years and it turns out that when the Ville hired Swan they had just come off of a 10-14 season. Since then counting the loss on Saturday, they are 49-21 with Swan at the helm. I too believe he is one of the best coaches around and I follow all of the area teams. A lot of the better teams(Franklin,Watchung,Montgomery,Gil) all have go-to players. The Ville has two guards #10 and #24 who are both VERY small and sometimes cannot get their shot off. His post players are average at best. #35(kashack), sorry if I mispelled her name is okay and it looked like the game plan was to get her the ball since Lata does not have a lot of height. She did okay but got fouled a lot and couldn't make her free throws. That is not Swan's fault nor or the missed shots. I also saw #10 and #21 make steals without converting on the other end. Do I think that Swan could have coached a better game...YES, but it seems like no one is mentioning what really happened in the game. Mulkerin and Doehring played the games of their lives. Don't believe me, look at the box scores from other Lata games and see what those two players have done all year. I am a Ville supporter who is NOT a parent and I can tell you that there are a lot worse things that the Ville could be than 12-6 and heading to the States. The guy has a lot of role players, but not a lot of individual talent. From what I understand, they are going to get their leading scorer back next year who is out with a knee injury. Should help out the other players who in my opinion are not ready to carry the team. Stop bashing the coach and cheer for the Ville.
Well said post. Could be a hunch but I bet two factors influenced the two players from Lata - Mulkerin and Doerhing. First, not starting and then given the job back, they wanted to play their best. Second, aren't they both from Branchburg and probably played with the Ville players as youths? Just a hunch, but probably influenced their game.
You're right about one thing Ryan. Somerville really struggles against Immaculata every year, but they always do well against opponents within their division. They cruised by a good North Plainfield team tonight and Swan actually did a good job coaching his team tonight. As someone who has commented on your blog before concerning his apparent weaknesses, I have to admit he did a good job tonight. As you said, these psychological roadblocks really do make the difference in these games against the bigger schools. It is these games in which Somerville really needs someone to step up and lead the team to victory.
Any predictions for the quarter finals this weekend?
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