Vermont has the experience to win the America East championship and return to the Big Dance in March.

Oct. 15, 2007

By Josh Herwitt

CSTV.com

JOSH HERWITT
Josh is CSTV.com's men's basketball editor and writes a weekly national column.
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        ---   Column Archive   --- M. BASKETBALL 4/8: Chalk One Up For These Jayhawks 4/6: Calipari, Self Ready To Take Final Step 4/4: What More Could You Want? 3/28: Tar Heels Feeling Right At Home 3/22: Gillispie Better Off In College Station? 3/16: Title Hopes Looming Large For Bruins 3/13: Arizona Keeping Tourney Streak Alive For Now 3/6: Holding A Full Deck Of Cards 2/28: A Step Back To Take A Step Forward 2/21: Nothing Comes Easy For Ryan 2/17: Blue Devils Anything But Blue 2/07: Bruins Could Be Hanging No. 12 2/07: January In Review 1/31: Hoyas Keeping Task At Hand 1/24: Finding Themselves 1/20: The Day We Were Waiting For 1/17: Hoosiers Holding Pieces To The Puzzle 1/10: Clemson's Scare Good For Heels 1/06: December In Review 1/03: Flyers Under The Radar 12/27: Win And You Shall Receive 12/20: Beasley's Just Being Beasley 12/13: Decadent and Depraved In Kentucky 12/06: Trojans Hurting Now To Smile Later 12/06: November In Review 11/29: Spotlight Shining Bright On Westwood 11/23: Turgeon's Taking His Time 11/15: Out With The Old, In With The New? 11/12: Don't Sleep On These Guys 11/08: Ducks Are Still Flying High 11/08: UCLA's Showing A Lot Of Love 11/05: Matta's Starting Over With More Youth 11/02: Hibbert's Standing Front and Center 11/01: Weber State Hopes To Dance Again 11/01: Hoyas, Cardinals Are Neck and Neck In Big East 10/30: Chomping At The Bit 10/27: Young Blood Giving Blue Devils New Life 10/26: Sweet Carolina 10/25: Better Than Nothing 10/18: Freshmen Fever 10/16: Hampton, High Point Ahead Of The Game 10/15: Vermont, Yale Climbing The Ladder 10/14: Austin Peay, Kent State Want Another Shot 10/12: On That Next Level 10/11: To The Highest Point 10/10: Roy's Boys Start At No. 1 10/04: Lexington's Buzzing Off The Hardwood 9/27: Leading The Pac 9/20: Everhart's Keeping His Dukes Up 9/13: Williams Just Getting Started 9/6: VMI's Williams Eager To Take Next Step 8/30: Beating Senioritis 8/23: Gearing Up For 2007-08 8/15: Walberg's Changing It Up 8/1: Gonzaga's Pargo Playing Coach 2/24: Bruins Enjoy Sweet Revenge 2/14: Lasme Takes Charge For Minutemen 2/1: St. John's Loses Steam After Halftime 12/2: Gause Provides Punch for Seton Hall Against SMC 11/22: Dynamic Duo Leads UCSB Over Pepperdine 11/18: LMU Shocks New Mexico St. With 0.9 Left 11/17: Gamecocks Spoil USC's Arena Opening 11/16: Mbah a Moute's Night 11/11: LMU Pulls Away Against Oral Roberts, 68-65 11/8: It's Been A Long Time M. LACROSSE 7/25: Yeatman Plays It Laid Back 7/18: For Better Or Worse? 7/6: Marr's Latest First 6/27: Making The Push 6/20: Big Questions Remain For Potential Big East 6/13: Sciubba Savors His Opportunity 6/6: No Excuses 6/4: One More Chance For Glory 5/30: Looking Back at 2007 5/28: Hopkins King For Another Day 5/27: Le Moyne Stuns Mercyhurst For DII Crown 5/27: Salisbury Earns Revenge On Cortland 5/26: Drama Doesn't Get To Duke 5/26: Hopkins Plays Another Day 5/26: Pietramala Feeling Right At Home 5/26: One Last Time 5/24: For Almost All The Marbles 5/18: Queener Likes It His Way 5/17: Still Wearing Their Slippers 5/13: Great Danes Win This Dog Fight 5/12: Plenty To Prove 5/11: Staying Alive 5/9: A Lot Left To Prove 5/8: Hoyas Ready For Next Step 5/7: Left in the Dark 5/5: Resetarits Powers Albany's Title Revenge 5/5: There's Nothing Sweeter Than Perfection 5/3: Seawolves Have No Answer For Thomson 5/3: These Irish Don't Need Any Luck 4/29: D Stands For Danowski...And Duke 4/28: Familiar Foes 4/28: Feeling Devlish 4/25: Turning Orange 4/21: Confidence Builds With Each Win For Hopkins 4/18: Cottle's World Full of Decisions 4/14: Nearing Perfection 4/7: Pouring It On 4/4: Off Their Heels 3/28: Seeing The Other Side 3/21: Albany Breaking New Ground 3/14: Big Things Brewing For Big Red 3/7: Climbing The List of Coaching Greats 3/3: Virginia Starts To Settle In With Face-Off Victory 3/2: Danowski Shows No Mercy For No. 6 Maryland 2/28: Losing Their Grip On The Stick 2/27: These Ten Bears Haven't Been Forgotten 2/16: Like Father, Like Son 2/14: Hofstra Still Full Of Its Own Pride W. LACROSSE 7/11: Lacrosse Migrates South 7/5: It's Home, Sweet Home For Miller 5/7: 'Cats Eyeing Three-Peat 4/11: Barking Softly Is Koch's Way 2/21: Building Programs Is Murphy's Game 2/15: Finding Her Own Key To Success 2/13: Third Time Is Still A Charm For `Cats FOOTBALL 10/8: USC Hangs On Again BASEBALL 1/23: Roemer Hungry To Get Back To Omaha M. WATER POLO 9/4: Cal Clawing For More 11/27: Family Doesn't Always Come First 11/13: March Is Back In Spite of Back 10/16: Top-Ranked USC Tops Cal in SoCal Tournament Final M. SOCCER 8/21: Nyarko Knocking at the Door 8/21: Title Hopes Brewing in Westwood 8/20: Bruins On The Rebound 8/20: Gauchos Go For Two

We continue our look at some of the best non-BCS programs in college basketball this season with our conference winner predictions and player of the year picks for the America East Conference, MAAC, Ivy League and Patriot League.

So as we break down each league in the country and prepare for the upcoming 2007-08 college basketball season, our coverage returns Tuesday with analysis on the Atlantic Sun, Big South, MEAC and Southland conferences.

America East

Albany may not have had the most complete team last year, but the Great Danes certainly had the best player. That happened to be two-time America East Player of the Year Jamar Wilson, who has now departed New York's capital city after a sensational senior campaign a year ago. Now the Great Danes move in a slightly different direction as head coach Will Brown believes he has his deepest and most talented team since starting with the Great Danes six years ago. But he won't have his two top scorers from last year in Wilson, who was relied upon heavily to score in late-game situations, and Jason Siggers. Those scoring responsibilities will have to be delegated to a host of Great Danes, which could make it difficult for Brown's team to repeat as America East champions in the long run. Instead, it's Vermont coach Mike Lonergan who has the team that can win the conference and make some noise in the postseason. Despite the surprise that came with Joe Trapani's transfer to Boston College in the offseason, the Catamounts have experience and leadership at the point guard slot, a must for any team destined to make the postseason. Junior Mike Trimboli is that guy for Lonergan, and he'll be asked to score the ball and more importantly get the rest of his teammates involved, ones like backcourt mate Kyle Cieplicki. To Lonergan's credit, too, the Catamounts aren't taking it easy before beginning conference play in January. Vermont scheduled ambitiously with non-conference contests coming against George Mason, Florida and Virginia, and that can only mean the Burlington school will be better prepared to make a run at the NCAA Tournament come March. And if that happens, you never know what could happen. Remember Syracuse in 2005? I do.

Prediction: Vermont

Player of the Year: Mike Trimboli (Jr.), Vermont

MAAC

It had been nearly 35 years since Niagara last played a game in the NCAA Tournament until Joe Mihalich went ahead and changed things in 2005 with a trip back to the Big Dance. But the Purple Eagles didn't defend their 2005 MAAC championship in 2006 like they should have. Instead, a senior-laden Iona team surged to the top of the conference, only for Niagara to take over again in 2007 with its second NCAA Tournament berth in three years. And while it might not have started out on the right path, last year was certainly a success for Niagara with a 23-12 season that came together on eight straight wins to finish the regular season and continued all the way through with a MAAC Tournament title. But with the defending MAAC champions losing three double-digit scorers in Clif Brown, Lorenzo Miles and J.R. Duffey, Mihalich's team isn't expected to get back to the NCAA Tournament even with First Team All-MAAC forward Charron Fischer, who tallied 20.6 points and eight rebounds per game last season, and Tyrone Lewis (12.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.9 apg) back in upstate New York. That leaves the top spot in the MAAC up for grabs with Siena having possibly the best chance to crown itself champion. After all, the Saints were four points from making the NCAA Tournament last season after losing to Niagara in the MAAC Tournament championship game, 83-79. This year, head coach Fran McCaffery will enjoy the comfort of playing the annual conference tournament on his home floor, and that should bode well for the Saints, who return junior Kenny Hasbrouck (16.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.6 apg) and last year's MAAC Co-Rookie of the Year Edwin Ubiles (11.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 apg). With Hasbrouck creating matchup difficulties on the perimeter due to his slashing and three-point capabilities, the 6-foot-7 wing Ubiles should continue to improve and gain more consistency over the course of the season. And that could be just the recipe McCaffery needs in Loudonville, N.Y. this season.

Prediction: Siena

Player of the Year: Jason Thompson (Sr.), Rider

Ivy League

Penn has been the class of the Ivy League for the past three years, but the Quakers graduated a lot from last year's squad that lost only once in conference play and reached the NCAA Tournament before falling to Texas A&M in the first round. Now with two-time Ivy League Player of the Year Ibrahim Jaaber, First Team All-Ivy selection Mark Zoller and three-year starter and shot blocker Steve Danley graduated, Penn coach Glen Miller knows this might not be the year that the Quakers make it four straight conference titles. So with the league race wide open again, this season could be the year that has Yale standing at the top of the standings and dancing with the big boys in March. From the sight of the Bulldogs' 14-13 record last year, you wouldn't give much thought to James Jones' team this upcoming year, but the eighth-year coach already has an important piece in figuring out the postseason puzzle. That's First Team All-Ivy guard Eric Flato, who averaged 15.3 points and 3.6 assists last season and shot 39 percent from three-point range. The senior captain hit 71 three-pointers in 2006-07, one shy of the program's single-season record. But with his backcourt mate Casey Hughes no longer with him in New Haven, Conn., Flato will have to find a new scoring partner -- either brothers Caleb and Nick Holmes or junior Ross Morin -- who can take some of the weight off his shoulders.

Prediction: Yale

Player of the Year: Eric Flato (Sr.), Yale

Patriot League

The battle for conference supremacy in the Patriot League has shifted back and forth between Bucknell and Holy Cross over the last three years, but while both schools should battle it out again in 2007-08 for another conference crown and a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament, each team took its lumps in the offseason. The Bison, after all, lost key seniors in point guard Abe Badmus and All-Patriot League selections Chris McNaughton and Donald Brown before Darren Mastropaolo tore his ACL playing in a pickup game this past summer. Now, with the senior forward expected to be out until January and possibly the entire season with a medical red-shirt, Bucknell coach Pat Flannery will resort to junior Josh Linthicum to inherit the starting center position. Those will be big shoes to fill in Lewisburg, Pa. after McNaughton spent the last four years as the conference's best post player. The Bison do, however, return point guard John Griffin (10.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg), and after knocking down 36.9 percent of his shots from behind the arc last season, the senior co-captain will be taking a lot of more shots now with his touch from the perimeter. But beating rival Holy Cross will most likely be the biggest test for the Bison this season, and the Crusaders know how to win with Ralph Willard on the sidelines. The Holy Cross coach has won the Patriot League title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in four of his eight seasons in Worcester, Mass., and he could be making it five of nine come March. While Willard will have to replace Patriot League Player of the Year Keith Simmons and Defensive Player of the Year Torey Thomas, he thinks red-shirt junior Pat Doherty can become the Crusaders' next all-league guard. Down low, of course, isn't a question mark for Holy Cross with Tim Clifford back for his senior season. The 6-foot-11 center posted 11.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a year ago, and those numbers should only continue to rise as Willard looks to him to carry the offense and open up the perimeter for Doherty and the rest of the guards committee.

Prediction: Holy Cross

Player of the Year: Jarrell Brown (Sr.), Army