[mainejeff]

Rashard Turner broke an 8-37 (21.6%) slump at Robert Morris going 10-17 with 23 pts. Unfortunately, the rest of his teammates went cold going 9-34 as the Black Bears dip to 1-4 with the 62-53 loss.

This team is not getting better. Junior Bernal is MIA. Will Reed ever play again? What the hell is going on in Orono? Come on Woodward.......get your team's act together! :curse:

 

[ginzo]

What is the deal with Bernal? is he just not at any of the games? if so, how can he expect to ever play college ball? How Come Harknell has basically not played at all, and Cavaghaugh has also played almost none?

 

[mainejeff]

For the answers to these questions and more.......stay tuned to As The Stink Ball Turns....... :boohoo:

 

[Chet the Jet]

Last we knew, Bernal was a victim of the NCAA clearinghouse (or something like that). Schools won't discuss student/athlete stuff like this (student privacy) and injuries. Thus, we have a virtual blackout when it comes to Bernal and Reed status.

The assumption is that IF the clearinghouse is involved, it most likely has something to do with a core course from prep school and whether or not it transfers. As for Reed, nobody is talking. No one even knows what the extent of the injury is other than "foot injury."

Cavanaugh has played quite a bit. Harknell is what he is until he shows otherwise.

Game was tied at 53 with 3:00 to go last night and Robert Morris finished with a 9-0 run.

 

[rozzie]

On the radio after the "0 for Pittsburgh" tour, Coach Woodward has sounded like a coach who's building for the conference tournament. I honestly don't get the impression that he cares about wins and losses right now and is preparing this team for a 4-5 game run in late February. Part of me applauds his realism as no way does this conference get but the one bid..........on the other hand, if you get *****-slapped every game, your players won't have the confidence to make that February run.

On another note, the next time anyone talks up a transfer to an AE school as the second coming, please self-edit. E. Turner, R. Turner, Zoellner, Udo, Markwood, etc. have all been lauded as these great additions to our conference. You know what? It now appears that there's a reason most of those guys didn't play at the "bigger" schools.........

But i digress.......

 

[NU Hoop Fan]

The clearinghouse SUCKS. It's woefully ineffective, and at best, it's slow and doesn't give a damn.

NU had some problems getting one of our players cleared at the beginning of last season, if you remember, and despite the protestations and aggressive responses at NU, the idiots there STILL took their sweet old time.

Chet, you're probably right about the clearinghouse backup, the folks there just have an inherent distrust for most prep schools and junior colleges and require a crazy amount of documentation.

Maine fans, I assume Ted's job is safe, correct?

 

[Chet the Jet]

Where's the AD that hired him? For that matter, who's the AD at Maine?

Roz, I hear you on the transfer rant and agree with you for the most part ... but remember, we also got Nate Fox, Andy Bedard, Julian Dunkley and Carvell Ammons. One bid leagues like AE, CAA, NEC, whatever, are full of guys with, um, hoop issues, shall we say. The further down the food chain, the more glaring the issues.

Maybe a guy's got a sweet stroke, but can't move. Maybe a guy's got quicks, but hands of stone. Maybe a guy's got great post skills, but he's 6-3. Maybe a guy's a post threat, but he can be moved off the block with a feather.

The frustrating part for this season is having it apparently end before it started. Great, we'll shoot for being good in February and March. What about November, December and January.

 

[South End]

On another note, the next time anyone talks up a transfer to an AE school as the second coming, please self-edit. E. Turner, R. Turner, Zoellner, Udo, Markwood, etc. have all been lauded as these great additions to our conference. You know what? It now appears that there's a reason most of those guys didn't play at the "bigger" schools.........

But i digress.......

Does anyone remember Shawn Ellison, the former CT highschool player of the year who transferred from UConn to Hartford after being unhappy with PT in Storrs? By the end of his career, he went from a starter to a role player for the Hawks who didn't get off the bench much.

 

[NU Hoop Fan]

I remember Shawn Ellison. Man was he a stiff. I think he was at the tail end of the Vinnie Baker era, perhaps? Not sure if he sat for UH when I was in school or was eligible.

How about these two "McDonald's All Americans" - Neal Fingleton and Scott Hazelton. Both of them played in the McDonald's game - in Boston, gee wonder why they made the team???

Hazelton had an uneventful career at UConn and URI - when many thought he should have gone to either BU or NU (He's from the Boston area) and would have done VERY well.

As for Fingleton - ugh.

 

[mainejeff]

I suggest that Maine fans start writing their letters to the President of UMaine and let him know your displeasure with the way things are being run in Orono (the interim AD thing). It is an absolute joke that there is no direction right now. :curse:

 

[ccd494]

You would think a hoops factory like MCI would have their ducks in a row regarding what you need to be eligible.

 

[mainejeff]

You'd think, wouldn'tya?

 

[TCB]

Last we knew, Bernal was a victim of the NCAA clearinghouse (or something like that). Schools won't discuss student/athlete stuff like this (student privacy) and injuries. Thus, we have a virtual blackout when it comes to Bernal and Reed status.

The assumption is that IF the clearinghouse is involved, it most likely has something to do with a core course from prep school and whether or not it transfers. As for Reed, nobody is talking. No one even knows what the extent of the injury is other than "foot injury."

Cavanaugh has played quite a bit. Harknell is what he is until he shows otherwise.

Game was tied at 53 with 3:00 to go last night and Robert Morris finished with a 9-0 run.

A victim? He was in high school for six years! Not sure what the hold-up is here, but it sounds like it could be a core course from MCI.

 

[Chet the Jet]

Yeah, you're right, NCAA is a humble little organization that has the student/athletes best interests at heart. We forgot.

 

[TCB]

Yeah, you're right, NCAA is a humble little organization that has the student/athletes best interests at heart. We forgot.

Sorry, but I wasn't implying that. It's hard for me to feel too much sympathy for someone who took six years to get out of high school and is still having trouble qualifying. Perhaps at some point the reasons behind the hold-up (problem with core course, etc.) will come out.

 

[ccd494]

What's Bernal's story anyways? I know he did some PG at MCI, and played a few years at a private school in Western Maine, like class C (Kent's Hill? St. Dom's?)? Did he play a year or two in NYC?

 

[TCB]

I know he played for a couple of years at a private school in Maine (including a post-graduate year), and then he did a sixth year at MCI.

 

[Chet the Jet]

Hyde School in Bath. It's Class C or D in Maine, not sure which.

I'm all for youngsters, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and kids who have had the misfortune of growing up in crappy educational systems, taking advantage of every legal and above-board opportunity that is available to them to further their education and better their lives.

Sure, there are those who take advantage of the system, or worse, waste their opportunities. But shouldn't we give a kid the benefit of the doubt? When Bernal announced for Maine, he made some revealing statements (I'm paraphrasing here) about wanting to stay to play for the state university because, among other things, he feels like the people of this state have helped him along the way, getting out of the city, etc.

Time will tell, as it always does, but it was nice to hear an in-state kid (via NYC) actually voice some pride and loyolty for the people of the state. So, we don't know how Bernal will do (pulling for the best) but he's certainly not the first and won't be the last ballplayer to be caught up in the massive ball of red tape that is the NCAA. Doesn't make him a victim, but neither does it make him a slacker.

 

[mainejeff]

The only slackers are the administrators in the UMaine athletic dept.

 

[Chet the Jet]

Calling them slackers is way too much credit, MJ. That infers that there's actually somebody there who has energy enough to pull the shades down and turn the lights off so as to not attract any attention.