Guess it’s over again for Murphy

Tom Murphy came out of his forced retirement from Hamilton two years ago as an assistant at SUNYIT, and last year became head coach, leading the Wildcats to a 16-12 record. SUNYIT was 8-17 the previous year.

Now, we don’t usually get much news from SUNYIT, but I see that the men’s basketball head coaching position is listed as open on their Web site. Hope that’s by Murphy’s choice this time. But even if so, he deserved a more formal good-bye.

Murphy has 618 career wins. But now he goes out … if that’s what he’s doing … looking like Johnny Unitas in a San Diego Charger uniform.

More conference dominoes fall

With the loss of Bard and Polytechnic to the Skyline, the North Eastern Athletic Conference is digging further down to fill the gap. The league announced this week it was adding Penn State-Harrisburg, Wells and Wilson.

Penn State-Harrisburg will apparently begin its provisional four-year period in Division III in the fall of 2007. Wells and Wilson are already Division III members and are refugees of the Atlantic Women’s Colleges Conference. Wells has started admitting men and will add basketball in 2008-09, for both genders. Wells was one of the few schools in Division III without basketball. Wilson remains women-only.

The NEAC will be losing Bard, Chestnut Hill, Polytechnic, SUNY-Purchase and Villa Julie at the conclusion of this academic year. So for those who have lost track (and let’s be honest, that’s gotta be most of us), here’s the NEAC 2007-08 lineup:
Baptist Bible, Cazenovia, D’Youville, Keuka, Keystone, Penn State-Berks, Penn State-Harrisbug, Philadelphia Biblical, Wells and Wilson.

Unfortunately, this group will get an automatic bid.

It’s hard to imagine this group won’t change again. They’re all over the map, geographically and philosophically.

Recruiting recap: Let’s get finished

With the move and everything, I have been holding onto this (admittedly incomplete) recruiting recap for a while.

Michael Strickland, Carolina Forest HS, N.C., to Randolph-Macon. He’s the son of former Coastal Carolina coach Pete Strickland.

Princess Anne (Va.) forward Kris Scott, 6-5, will attend Shenandoah and play men’s basketball.

St. Catherine’s (Wis.) point guard Jamie DeMatthew is heading to Lawrence. His high school teammate, Matt Gertenbach, is going to Vassar.

Sam Groseclose, 6-8, 265, will attend Mary Washington. He averaged 15.7 points and 8.7 rebounds for Turner Ashby HS. He told The Daily News Record of Harrisonburg, Va., the following:

“I went down and watched them play, and it didn’t seem like they had a lot of inside presence,” he said. “It seemed like that was the one thing they were lacking, and that’s what their coach told me, he said, ‘We’re lacking a true inside man’ and honestly, through high school, that’s all I played.”

DeMatthew, who joins Waterford graduate Jayce Apelgren on the team, averaged 8.6 points and 2.2 steals with an impressive 5-to-1 assist to turnover ratio (he had 159 assists and 32 turnovers).

Cox’s Emory Wheeler, a 6-3 forward, has committed to play men’s basketball at Southern Vermont.

Scranton coach Carl Danzig has announced that Joseph Alfier (Allentown Central Catholic) and Dan O’Connell (John F. Kennedy Catholic, N.Y.) will join the Royals for the upcoming season.

Alfier, a 5-11 point guard, was a three-year letterman and a two-year starter for the Vikings. He was a member of three Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) District XI Class AAA championship teams that finished with an overall record of 65-22 from 2004 through 2006. He is the younger brother of Nick Alfier, who was a four-year letterman for the Royals from 2002-2006.

“Joe comes to us from a solid basketball tradition at Allentown Central Catholic,” says Danzig. “He is a solid player who is solid fundamentally and has been well coached. His role next year will be as a back-up at the point-guard position. He brings a lot of bounce and energy to the program.”

O’Connell, 6-0, 170, was a three-year starter at point guard for the Gaels. He averaged 15.7 points as the Gaels went 25-2 and won the sectional Class B title for the third consecutive season. He finished his career with 978 points in 80 games.

“Dan will make an immediate impact on the program,” says Danzig. “I’m counting on him as a backup at the point guard position. He was a three-year starter on a championship-caliber program, so I’m sure he’ll make the transition smoothly to the college level.”

Seton Catholic Central is sending point guard Jim Torto to Rochester Tech and Jerome Gosney and D.J. Lane to Marywood.

Johnsburg HS center Kyle Fiedorowicz, a three-year starter, will attend North Central and play basketball, according to Illinois’ Northwest Herald.

Loras is getting Travis Guy from Grayslake (Ill.) HS. His teammate, Elias Washington, is heading to Illinois Wesleyan.

Fredonia State is getting Scott Valenta, who averaged 12 points per game at Binghamton (N.Y.) HS, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin.

From the Alliance Review, in Ohio, Mount Union‘s recruits: G Steve James, Cuyahoga Falls HS, Ohio; G Travis Larrick, Brunswick HS, Ohio; G Gurpreet Singh, Canfield HS, Ohio; G/F Matt Ricci, Stow, Ohio; G/F Kyle Monceaux, Shenango, Pa.; C Jared Hale, Carlisle. G/F Stu Anglum transfers in as a sophomore from Mercyhurst. He played in all 28 games last year, averaging 3.8 points in 17.9 minutes

La Verne is getting guard Mike Moreno, a transfer from Chaffey College, a two-year school in California.

Post player David Chase will be at Colby next season. He was all-state in Class M in Connecticut for Weston HS.

Webster announced more recruits: Drew Horn (St. Pius X HS, Mo.), John Ortwerth (DeSmet HS, Mo.), Colin Regan (Bishop DuBourg HS, Mo.), Troy Rhodes (Hazelwood West HS, Mo.), Jason Terranova (Lyons HS, Colo.), Josue Whitcomb (Blue Valley West HS, Kan.).

Oswego (Ill.) High School’s Brad Harmon is heading to St. John’s.

Neuqua Valley forward Eric Moore will attend Carthage.

Women
Ashley Reed, Robinson HS, Va., to Mary Washington
Katie Rechnitzer, Robinson HS, Va., to Randolph-Macon

Jamestown HS, Va., Tonia Jones to Virginia Wesleyan

Leah Rubega (Norwich Free Academy, Conn.) completes the Bowdoin incoming class, two of whom were profiled in a previous blog posting.

Jessica Schwartz will attend Franklin after playing at Maconaquah HS in Indiana.

Northwest Herald female athlete of the year Jen Nichols will play basketball at Dubuque. She’s the all-time leading scorer at Woodstock HS and shot 43% from three-point range as a senior.

Wartburg is getting Amanda Mulholland from Poplar Grove North Boone HS, according to the Rockford Register Star.

Tomeka Pride will play at Methodist, says the Goldsboro News-Argus. She’s a 5-11 power forward from Spring Creek HS in North Carolina.

Blackburn has released its incoming class. From Lanphier HS in Springfield, Mo., guard/forward Gina Nudo, center Jennifer Young, and guard Tamikka Brents. “We’re thrilled to have all three of them,” said Fritch. “They all meant so much to the Lanphier program, and they will be a huge part of our program as well.” Others: Bloomington (Ill.) HS guard Lovie McClom, Tolono-Unity’s Meghan Schultz, East Alton Wood River High School’s Jessica Hewitt, Bethalto Civic Memorial’s Kayla Broadway and Jerseyville’s Michelle Woelfel.

Monterey Peninsula College, a two-year school in California, is sending three players to Baruch: Dominique McClendon, Myleka Garnett and Karlee Whipple. According to the Monterey County Herald, McClendon scored 19.4 points per game and Garnett scored 14.5 points and had 11 rebounds per game.

Maine Maritime welcomes 5 new players to the 2006-2007 squad. Michelle Ferry (Woodland HS), Laura Blanchard (Valdez HS, Alaska), Kelsi Eianne (Mt. Ararat HS), Amanda Laney (Mt. Blue HS), and Katie Quimby (Brewer HS) will join the Lady Mariner program that has competed in back to back NCAA Tournaments.

Ferry, a 5-10 post player, joins MMA after winning a state championship for the Woodland Dragons. A McDonalds All-Star, Ferry will provide depth at the 4 and the 5 spots in the Lady Mariner front court. Ferry was also the Gatorade Player of the Year in Maine for Volleyball.

Blanchard, a 6-0 All-State selection in Alaska, returns to the state of Maine after playing at McCauley HS in Portland Maine before moving out of state. Blanchard will add athleticism and size to MMA’s front line.

Eianne, a 5-7 shooting guard, led her team in scoring on her way to an all-conference selection at Mt. Ararat. Kelsi will be an instant scoring threat from the perimeter and is capable of handling the ball in transition. Eianne will also play soccer at MMA.

Laney, a 5-5 guard, will play the 1 and 2 spots for MMA. Laney captained the Mt. Blue team to the state playoffs and was also selected to the Academic All-Conference team. Laney was the teams point guard and best 3pt shooter.

Quimby, a 5-9 athletic guard, rounds out the Lady Mariner recruiting class. Quimby can play multiple spots on the floor and will add depth to the MMA backcourt. She was the captain of the basketball team and is leading the Brewer softball team to another outstanding season.