The Binghamton Men's Basketball team pulls off another first... they have just been ranked #28 in the first preseason poll to be released. When I saw the headline, I'm not going to lie, I thought it was going to be a mid-major poll... alas, you can imagine my surprise when I saw the next team BEHIND us was Georgetown.
Ok - the question everyone is asking, of course, is how accurate is this ranking? Well, maybe not asking, but there is definitely a bit of skepticism. Let's first realize the fact that there is no accurate and inaccurate in an opinion of preseason rankings... that's the publisher's opinion.
What's my opinion? I cringe to say that, while I think we're going to be great, maybe not #28. HOWEVER - the bottom line is that no teams have played a single game and there have been wilder upsets, runs and even tournament performances on numerous occassions. I do actually believe we have the makings to perform this well... the big difference is that it's VERY up in the air and we will definitely have to wait to find out. Every other team on that list, in contrast, has less to prove and can more safely be evaluated in their current spot. Further, there are plenty of other teams, like Binghamton, that have the makings to surprise some folks. So, who knows, maybe this ranking is wiser than us, but then again, let's not get our hopes up.
Regardless of #28 of #208, Binghamton has a great season ahead of them and this ranking is one they should be proud of and one the athletics department should milk for all it's worth. Whatever your opinion, don't count it out and don't put your money on it either.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
And the Bearcats are Off and Running...
Fall sports are finally in full swing, which has been a great distraction from my work... So far a pretty up and down week:
Women's Soccer:
Interesting how much hype they received going into the week. For those who don't know, they brought in a group of new players, many of whom played at local Maine-Endwell HS (my alma matter), then played for local BCC (who won the Junior College NCAA DIII national championships last year... a bigger deal than it may sound like) and finally landed at Bing this year. They also have a second year and young coach which usually spells "building year(s)." The result: 0-2 in play thus far. We'll see how it continues to go for them.
Volleyball:
Believe it or not, this is one of the more spectated teams on campus - these girls are tough cookies and surprisingly fun to watch. They've also sat at or near the top of the conference for a while now. Like the women's soccer team, they have been hyped up and even voted 1st in the conference in the preseason coaches poll. I was pretty scared when they got swept in their opener to Marshall, but quite relieved when they really showed their colors in wins against both Rhode Island and Hofstra. I think that we'll be seeing many more W's in the future.
Men's Soccer:
Near and dear to me. Binghamton's men's soccer team is really more like the school football team, for several reasons: 1) We don't have an "american football" team. 2) Bingo is such a diverse school that there is a rather high appreciation for the sport. 3) The team is highly spectated (averaging literally in the thousands per game) and placing us in the top 20 for attendance this past year, among all D1 teams... and in a beautiful new stadium to boot. The BSC has established itself as a fierce place to play as a loss is rare for the Bearcats on home turf. In fact, we haven't lost a regular season game at home in 22 games (last loss was in 2005) and a preseason loss is still pretty rare. 4) They're good. They have been to the conference championship title game for each of the past 6 years. Unfortunately, we lost in the last two (AE is a surprisingly good and competitive soccer conference) - the prime target of revenge this year: Boston, the only team voted ahead of us in the preseason coach's poll.
I have high hopes, but am INCREDIBLY cautious as the team is extremely young this year and we are playing sans an offense-heavy 2009 graduating class. Here's the good news: The newbies are quite talented and our older defensive players are among the top in the country. Townie goal keeper, Stenta, was the third best goalie this past year by way of goals-against-average... really, this guy is amazing. Here's more bad news: even if they rake in the wins this year, don't expect high scoring games. We'll probably be winning on defense (unless some of these new players or emerging returners really step up and surprise us).
This isn't going to be an easy season either as the schedule boasts some high profile teams. First game up:
TOMORROW, 7pm, Bearcats Sports Complex vs. SYRACUSE ORANGE.
I think this promises to be a good game. Also, I really hope that people turn out in droves... if so, probably fueled by the bolstered school spirit coming off of an awesome basketball season and a winning, exciting history for the soccer team. GO TO THE GAME!!!
Men's Basketball:
Lot's to come on this, but a few highlights: The OCC schedule has yet to be officially released, although we can piece much of it together from other team's schedules. Among the highlights is a match-up against Pitt. Yes, Pitt. Personally, I'm quite excited about another high profile game/tournament at Drake, in part because it is only a 5 hour drive for me to the Iowa site... naturally I'll be there with my own piece-meal cheering section. Other important news: Bing has officially signed Corey Chandler, the once #12 ranked PG nationally and transfer from Rutgers. The downside: he, like a few recent recruits has something of a sorted past, but in my opinion, there is no news unless he violates Binghamton's rules/code of ethics. I have much faith in Broadus as a formative coach and hope that he can keep him in line.
Women's Basketball:
WOW... what a schedule... if you haven't seen it, just go to BUBearcats.com and check it out. Brief highlights: Season opener vs. Villanova, an away game vs. 'Cuse (it'd be nice to get a traveling section for this) and hosting Miami.
Women's Soccer:
Interesting how much hype they received going into the week. For those who don't know, they brought in a group of new players, many of whom played at local Maine-Endwell HS (my alma matter), then played for local BCC (who won the Junior College NCAA DIII national championships last year... a bigger deal than it may sound like) and finally landed at Bing this year. They also have a second year and young coach which usually spells "building year(s)." The result: 0-2 in play thus far. We'll see how it continues to go for them.
Volleyball:
Believe it or not, this is one of the more spectated teams on campus - these girls are tough cookies and surprisingly fun to watch. They've also sat at or near the top of the conference for a while now. Like the women's soccer team, they have been hyped up and even voted 1st in the conference in the preseason coaches poll. I was pretty scared when they got swept in their opener to Marshall, but quite relieved when they really showed their colors in wins against both Rhode Island and Hofstra. I think that we'll be seeing many more W's in the future.
Men's Soccer:
Near and dear to me. Binghamton's men's soccer team is really more like the school football team, for several reasons: 1) We don't have an "american football" team. 2) Bingo is such a diverse school that there is a rather high appreciation for the sport. 3) The team is highly spectated (averaging literally in the thousands per game) and placing us in the top 20 for attendance this past year, among all D1 teams... and in a beautiful new stadium to boot. The BSC has established itself as a fierce place to play as a loss is rare for the Bearcats on home turf. In fact, we haven't lost a regular season game at home in 22 games (last loss was in 2005) and a preseason loss is still pretty rare. 4) They're good. They have been to the conference championship title game for each of the past 6 years. Unfortunately, we lost in the last two (AE is a surprisingly good and competitive soccer conference) - the prime target of revenge this year: Boston, the only team voted ahead of us in the preseason coach's poll.
I have high hopes, but am INCREDIBLY cautious as the team is extremely young this year and we are playing sans an offense-heavy 2009 graduating class. Here's the good news: The newbies are quite talented and our older defensive players are among the top in the country. Townie goal keeper, Stenta, was the third best goalie this past year by way of goals-against-average... really, this guy is amazing. Here's more bad news: even if they rake in the wins this year, don't expect high scoring games. We'll probably be winning on defense (unless some of these new players or emerging returners really step up and surprise us).
This isn't going to be an easy season either as the schedule boasts some high profile teams. First game up:
TOMORROW, 7pm, Bearcats Sports Complex vs. SYRACUSE ORANGE.
I think this promises to be a good game. Also, I really hope that people turn out in droves... if so, probably fueled by the bolstered school spirit coming off of an awesome basketball season and a winning, exciting history for the soccer team. GO TO THE GAME!!!
Men's Basketball:
Lot's to come on this, but a few highlights: The OCC schedule has yet to be officially released, although we can piece much of it together from other team's schedules. Among the highlights is a match-up against Pitt. Yes, Pitt. Personally, I'm quite excited about another high profile game/tournament at Drake, in part because it is only a 5 hour drive for me to the Iowa site... naturally I'll be there with my own piece-meal cheering section. Other important news: Bing has officially signed Corey Chandler, the once #12 ranked PG nationally and transfer from Rutgers. The downside: he, like a few recent recruits has something of a sorted past, but in my opinion, there is no news unless he violates Binghamton's rules/code of ethics. I have much faith in Broadus as a formative coach and hope that he can keep him in line.
Women's Basketball:
WOW... what a schedule... if you haven't seen it, just go to BUBearcats.com and check it out. Brief highlights: Season opener vs. Villanova, an away game vs. 'Cuse (it'd be nice to get a traveling section for this) and hosting Miami.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Binghamton University: A new year.
I have anxiously been filing through the various news stories, photography, etc. of move-in day for Binghamton University. This is a particularly exciting year for the school as the new class brings with them some record statistics, great for them, great for the school and great for alumni who's resumes will always benefit from the school's advancement.
I was excited to see that Binghamton received over 33,000 applications this year and only accepted about 1/3 of those applicants. This makes them one of the most selective schools in the country, let alone maintaining their spot as a top five most competitive public school. To boot, the average freshman profile boasts 1290 SAT, 94 GPA and an incredibly diverse student body.
On top of this, the athletics program has been getting a lot of good buzz - great new recruits and partnerships for this years basketball season (on the tails of an amazing, record setting 08-09 season which concluded with our first NCAA appearance), highly anticipated showings from the volleyball and soccer teams, and much more.
Another great set of headlines have been the barrage of research grants and patent applications (tripled in just a couple years) the university should be celebrating.
All-in-all, Binghamton has really risen as a premier institution and as a proud alumni, these headlines have all been greatly encouraging.
Welcome new freshman and here's to a great year!
I was excited to see that Binghamton received over 33,000 applications this year and only accepted about 1/3 of those applicants. This makes them one of the most selective schools in the country, let alone maintaining their spot as a top five most competitive public school. To boot, the average freshman profile boasts 1290 SAT, 94 GPA and an incredibly diverse student body.
On top of this, the athletics program has been getting a lot of good buzz - great new recruits and partnerships for this years basketball season (on the tails of an amazing, record setting 08-09 season which concluded with our first NCAA appearance), highly anticipated showings from the volleyball and soccer teams, and much more.
Another great set of headlines have been the barrage of research grants and patent applications (tripled in just a couple years) the university should be celebrating.
All-in-all, Binghamton has really risen as a premier institution and as a proud alumni, these headlines have all been greatly encouraging.
Welcome new freshman and here's to a great year!
First Blog
So, I've never really got the blog thing but I thought I would give it a shot. Mostly, I've come to realize that my dog and cats aren't the best venue for venting, celebrating and so forth.
I thought I would just start out by giving a quick mention of what to expect.
I went to Binghamton University for undergrad, a period of time that was incredibly formative and thus a cornerstone in my life. I am a very proud alumni who takes an active interest in the school, their progress, the athletics, and being a Binghamton native, the town-gown relations. I think you'll hear a lot of my thoughts about this... some cheers, some jeers.
I'm also a graduate student at the University of Illinois, studying Labor and Employment Relations. I've recently finished an internship with Rolls-Royce in D.C., with a full-time offer pending... expect to hear about this as my wait continues.
Who exactly is going to read this, I'm curious... Will this actually have an impact? We'll see - let the blogging begin.
I thought I would just start out by giving a quick mention of what to expect.
I went to Binghamton University for undergrad, a period of time that was incredibly formative and thus a cornerstone in my life. I am a very proud alumni who takes an active interest in the school, their progress, the athletics, and being a Binghamton native, the town-gown relations. I think you'll hear a lot of my thoughts about this... some cheers, some jeers.
I'm also a graduate student at the University of Illinois, studying Labor and Employment Relations. I've recently finished an internship with Rolls-Royce in D.C., with a full-time offer pending... expect to hear about this as my wait continues.
Who exactly is going to read this, I'm curious... Will this actually have an impact? We'll see - let the blogging begin.
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