IonaGaelsFan
The Recruit Level
Hello Sycamore fans from New Rochelle, NY, home of the Iona Gaels.
Just wanted to wish you guys good luck against us (but not too much that you'll beat us!).
Unlike you, everyone in Iona land is thrilled with our match-up against you. Having been in your shoes last year I'm sure you're all on pins and needles for an at-large, but from afar it seems like you have enough quality wins to get the bid regardless of if you drew another team in the BB match-up or if you drew us. From our perspective this game is a win-win situation, since we're playing on the road against an RPI top 50 team and unlike last year we're playing without the pressure of any at-large discussion.
Also, a little bit about our team in case you find this helpful.
It's no secret that we are a high-octane run and gun team. This is both our greatest strength and biggest weakness. When the team is shooting well from the perimeter we are extremely tough for anyone to beat. We like to play extremely quick in transition and look for us to try to get up the court at the speed of light both off misses and makes. On the other hand, our run-and-gun style has cost us a lot of games that we should've won, since the system causes us to wear ourselves out a bit, and more importantly, give the other team more possessions than we should late in the game.
Don't be fooled by our RPI in either direction. We can be a LOT better than the 95th best team in the country on any given day, and we can also be a LOT worse than that, as well. We are a very dangerous team for anybody when we're on our game. We're led by Momo Jones, an Arizona transfer who can score with the best of them in the country and is deadly from the FT line, however also has a history of forcing some bad shots when it counts the most. We have a SG named Sean Armand who is one of the best 3 pt shooters in the nation and can shoot with multiple hands in his face. Our interior presence is pretty light, although we do have one kid named David Laury who just became eligible for the 2nd half of this season who is an absolute beast inside and can also take you off the handle and score from outside.
We've had some tough losses this year and played the first half of the season without Laury, which probably cost us 3 wins or so and about 20 points in the RPI. We've also had some impressive performances (on paper at least), notably crushing Wake Forest by almost 30 and beating UGA down in Athens.
Also, while our program is on the rise, we have become notorious for blowing leads inexplicably and not being able to win close games over the past few seasons, and deservedly so. We blew an NCAA tournament record 25 point lead to BYU last season, and this season has been marred by more of the same on several occasions -- as recently as last weekend we lost a 5 point lead with 30 seconds and the ball to drop a first place conference match-up against Niagara. Bottom line, if it comes down to a tie game with 30 seconds left I wouldn't be too concerned if I were you.
Anyway, here's hoping for a great game between our two schools. Looking forward to learning more about you as well, and of course cheering you on the rest of the way (in all games other than the one against the Gaels, of course!).
Just wanted to wish you guys good luck against us (but not too much that you'll beat us!).
Unlike you, everyone in Iona land is thrilled with our match-up against you. Having been in your shoes last year I'm sure you're all on pins and needles for an at-large, but from afar it seems like you have enough quality wins to get the bid regardless of if you drew another team in the BB match-up or if you drew us. From our perspective this game is a win-win situation, since we're playing on the road against an RPI top 50 team and unlike last year we're playing without the pressure of any at-large discussion.
Also, a little bit about our team in case you find this helpful.
It's no secret that we are a high-octane run and gun team. This is both our greatest strength and biggest weakness. When the team is shooting well from the perimeter we are extremely tough for anyone to beat. We like to play extremely quick in transition and look for us to try to get up the court at the speed of light both off misses and makes. On the other hand, our run-and-gun style has cost us a lot of games that we should've won, since the system causes us to wear ourselves out a bit, and more importantly, give the other team more possessions than we should late in the game.
Don't be fooled by our RPI in either direction. We can be a LOT better than the 95th best team in the country on any given day, and we can also be a LOT worse than that, as well. We are a very dangerous team for anybody when we're on our game. We're led by Momo Jones, an Arizona transfer who can score with the best of them in the country and is deadly from the FT line, however also has a history of forcing some bad shots when it counts the most. We have a SG named Sean Armand who is one of the best 3 pt shooters in the nation and can shoot with multiple hands in his face. Our interior presence is pretty light, although we do have one kid named David Laury who just became eligible for the 2nd half of this season who is an absolute beast inside and can also take you off the handle and score from outside.
We've had some tough losses this year and played the first half of the season without Laury, which probably cost us 3 wins or so and about 20 points in the RPI. We've also had some impressive performances (on paper at least), notably crushing Wake Forest by almost 30 and beating UGA down in Athens.
Also, while our program is on the rise, we have become notorious for blowing leads inexplicably and not being able to win close games over the past few seasons, and deservedly so. We blew an NCAA tournament record 25 point lead to BYU last season, and this season has been marred by more of the same on several occasions -- as recently as last weekend we lost a 5 point lead with 30 seconds and the ball to drop a first place conference match-up against Niagara. Bottom line, if it comes down to a tie game with 30 seconds left I wouldn't be too concerned if I were you.
Anyway, here's hoping for a great game between our two schools. Looking forward to learning more about you as well, and of course cheering you on the rest of the way (in all games other than the one against the Gaels, of course!).
