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Post by vbplayer88 on Jun 22, 2015 1:53:05 GMT -5
I was told Vaught is playing the bigger matches. Who are the starting outsides for SCVC 17's? I believe its Morrissey and McFarland |
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Post by vbf on Jun 22, 2015 11:31:12 GMT -5
Ten thoughts about the Junior Boys Classic in no particular order
1. The HBC 18 vs Pac Rim 18 semi was probably the most watched match of the tournament. Ma'a is better than I expected and he makes Pac Rim better than I expected. Pac Rim probably went to him a little too often and HBC was able to get a key block because they went to him one too many times. Josh and DeFalco are a tough combo to beat. I didn't get to see the finals. Pac Rim didn't look great against OCVC but sure stepped up against HBC.
2. There is a lot of parity in the 17s division. 3 of the 4 Gold quarterfinal matches went 3 games. SCVC was the only team that was able to win in in 2 in the quarterfinals. I was surprised to see SCVC lost in the semis but an injury to a key player can shake things up. HBC 17 had 4 of their matches go 3 sets and they were able to win them all.
3. When there is a pool with 3 teams, I hate to see a team get eliminated from the gold round when all three teams end up 1-1. I would rather the 2nd and 3rd team play a one game playoff to see who advances.
4. The Anaheim Convention Center is a good place to host this event. I was actually cold at times what a contrast to a warm day at the ASC sweatbox. This isn't a new thing for the ACC to host the event, but I still appreciate it and the food options with the food trucks and food court at the Hilton are appreciated too.
5. The endurance aspect of trying to win this type of event is under appreciated. Teams that have depth that can play different players in the early rounds have a big advantage. I was worn out by Sunday morning and was just watching. I saw some teams looking worn out on Sunday due to fatigue.
6. I didn't get to see the 16s play. They have a really long day on Sunday. Endurance and depth is key for the 16s. Congrats to Balboa 16. They won all their matches in 2 sets except for the semis against MB Surf 16.
7. Congrats to the Balboa 14 team. They were as good as people said they were. They won all their matches in 2 sets and only 2 teams scored over 15 points in a set against them. Only 1 team scored 20 points in a set against them.
8. MB Surf 15 deserves the number one seed at nationals. The MB Surf 15 vs 949 15 semis was a great match. Both teams were performing at a high level. Both teams have players that people will be talking about in the future.
9. This is a minor thing to get about in the world today and this is my own personal opinion but I really didn't care for the behavior of the HBC 15 kids during this tournament. The excessive celebration and running around in circles on the court in celebration after almost every point turns me off. It seems like part of their game is to get into the heads of opposing teams to make them underperform. And that strategy is effective at the 15s age group. Some say that is part of the game. It is just not something I like to see. #12 and their libero are really talented and #9 looked good too. They don't need to try to get other teams to perform poorly. One can say that they are just kids having fun, I would disagree. If I had a 15 year playing in this tournament, I would not want him to behave the way they behaved.
10. Is there any real point to the SCVA keeping track of points during the season? If they are going to keep track of points, they should make the Boys Classic worth a ton of points to make it consistent with how teams are seeded for BJNCs.
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Post by coy on Jun 22, 2015 12:11:20 GMT -5
Ten thoughts about the Junior Boys Classic in no particular order 1. The HBC 18 vs Pac Rim 18 semi was probably the most watched match of the tournament. Ma'a is better than I expected and he makes Pac Rim better than I expected. Pac Rim probably went to him a little too often and HBC was able to get a key block because they went to him one too many times. Josh and DeFalco are a tough combo to beat. I didn't get to see the finals. Pac Rim didn't look great against OCVC but sure stepped up against HBC. 2. There is a lot of parity in the 17s division. 3 of the 4 Gold quarterfinal matches went 3 games. SCVC was the only team that was able to win in in 2 in the quarterfinals. I was surprised to see SCVC lost in the semis but an injury to a key player can shake things up. HBC 17 had 4 of their matches go 3 sets and they were able to win them all. 3. When there is a pool with 3 teams, I hate to see a team get eliminated from the gold round when all three teams end up 1-1. I would rather the 2nd and 3rd team play a one game playoff to see who advances. 4. The Anaheim Convention Center is a good place to host this event. I was actually cold at times what a contrast to a warm day at the ASC sweatbox. This isn't a new thing for the ACC to host the event, but I still appreciate it and the food options with the food trucks and food court at the Hilton are appreciated too. 5. The endurance aspect of trying to win this type of event is under appreciated. Teams that have depth that can play different players in the early rounds have a big advantage. I was worn out by Sunday morning and was just watching. I saw some teams looking worn out on Sunday due to fatigue. 6. I didn't get to see the 16s play. They have a really long day on Sunday. Endurance and depth is key for the 16s. Congrats to Balboa 16. They won all their matches in 2 sets except for the semis against MB Surf 16. 7. Congrats to the Balboa 14 team. They were as good as people said they were. They won all their matches in 2 sets and only 2 teams scored over 15 points in a set against them. Only 1 team scored 20 points in a set against them. 8. MB Surf 15 deserves the number one seed at nationals. The MB Surf 15 vs 949 15 semis was a great match. Both teams were performing at a high level. Both teams have players that people will be talking about in the future. 9. This is a minor thing to get about in the world today and this is my own personal opinion but I really didn't care for the behavior of the HBC 15 kids during this tournament. The excessive celebration and running around in circles on the court in celebration after almost every point turns me off. It seems like part of their game is to get into the heads of opposing teams to make them underperform. And that strategy is effective at the 15s age group. Some say that is part of the game. It is just not something I like to see. #12 and their libero are really talented and #9 looked good too. They don't need to try to get other teams to perform poorly. One can say that they are just kids having fun, I would disagree. I would not my 15 year old kid to behave the way they behaved. 10. Is there any real point to the SCVA keeping track of points during the season? If they are going to keep track of points, they should make the Boys Classic worth a ton of points to make it consistent with how teams are seeded for BJNCs. Just 15s? More like every HBC team ever created. Dating back to even when they were (essentially) LBC, before that club got disbanded for their lack of class. |
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Post by vbinca on Jun 22, 2015 12:41:47 GMT -5
I think the most impressive part of the whole tournament in the 18s division is how well some of the Club division teams that are going to Nationals played. OCVC at 7th and were pushing Pac Rim hard until their libero hurt his back. Coast at 11th, SMBC at 13th, Spiral at 14th, AZ Fear at 16th. Did anyone else see the outside from AZ Fear before he got hurt? He is a monster. I looked him up since I had never seen him before nor recognized his name. Kid used to live in Germany, went to a sports school since he was a little kid, now lives in Flagstaff and goes to a high school with no volleyball team and didn't seem to play club in the long season and is not listed on middlehitter as being a recruit.
There was some discussion a couple a pages back about why the Boys Classic doesn't separate the Open teams from the Club teams, I think the results here might beg the question that the West Coast might need more bids to Nationals. Maybe an Arizona tournament? That might give more SoCal and Arizona teams that sure seem to be in the top 36 nationally a spot and create a higher caliber Open division at Nationals. Just to put things in perspective this is where some Open division teams placed this weekend - Ocean Bay 15th (played Pac Rim really tough), MVVC 17th, 949 at 19th (with only one lose for the whole tournament), MVC Brian at 20th, Team Rockstar at 23rd, and Vortex at 28th.
I do realize California teams could travel back East and get bids, and I do respect the teams that travel out West and earn bids out here, but there sure seems to be some talented teams who could go deep in the Open division at Nationals who are not going to get a chance. Club division gold bracket should be fun to watch though.
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Post by 4vball4 on Jun 22, 2015 13:00:42 GMT -5
I think the most impressive part of the whole tournament in the 18s division is how well some of the Club division teams that are going to Nationals played. OCVC at 7th and were pushing Pac Rim hard until their libero hurt his back. Coast at 11th, SMBC at 13th, Spiral at 14th, AZ Fear at 16th. Did anyone else see the outside from AZ Fear before he got hurt? He is a monster. I looked him up since I had never seen him before nor recognized his name. Kid used to live in Germany, went to a sports school since he was a little kid, now lives in Flagstaff and goes to a high school with no volleyball team and didn't seem to play club in the long season and is not listed on middlehitter as being a recruit. There was some discussion a couple a pages back about why the Boys Classic doesn't separate the Open teams from the Club teams, I think the results here might beg the question that the West Coast might need more bids to Nationals. Maybe an Arizona tournament? That might give more SoCal and Arizona teams that sure seem to be in the top 36 nationally a spot and create a higher caliber Open division at Nationals. Just to put things in perspective this is where some Open division teams placed this weekend - Ocean Bay 15th (played Pac Rim really tough), MVVC 17th, 949 at 19th (with only one lose for the whole tournament), MVC Brian at 20th, Team Rockstar at 23rd, and Vortex at 28th. I do realize California teams could travel back East and get bids, and I do respect the teams that travel out West and earn bids out here, but there sure seems to be some talented teams who could go deep in the Open division at Nationals who are not going to get a chance. Club division gold bracket should be fun to watch though. I agree with the depth in numbers of the west coast teams compared to other areas of the country. And they should show their desire to be awarded bids by taking advantage of the opportunities that are out there. There are several teams that will fill the 28-36 seeds at BJNC that could be easily displaced by these teams if they would attend a qualifier outside of SC. Bottom-line, there wasn't a single west coast team that made the journey east this year to any of the qualifiers: Chicago, Rochester, Florida, Pennsylvania (2), St. Louis, etc. yet every year there is representation of 3+ teams from the Midwest and East Coast teams at both the January and June California tournaments. Until the West Coast starts making at least some level of appearance at these events, I would question how much accommodation should be made for another bid event in that area. There is already a NC qualifier in January and it pales in comparison to the SC events. There is an added level of complexity, strain, and difficulty when adding a four hour flight on either end of a tournament plus the time zone differences. Seems like the West Coast teams would just as well wait for an at-large bid and not incur the expense and strain of flying east to compete. In doing so, they effectively accept their options / fate as the opportunity is there for them to get a bid. |
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Post by vballfordayzz on Jun 22, 2015 13:18:59 GMT -5
Does anyone know why HBC's libero, Blake Diamond, wore pants? Also, if HBC wants an easier time with winning, I would suggest putting Ryne Benson in the whole match instead of just playing back row and never getting set. Vaught isn't better than Benson.
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Post by vbf on Jun 22, 2015 13:22:50 GMT -5
If Pac Rim 18s wins at BJNC, will that make Maá the first person to win golds at every age group from 14 to 18?
Has someone or a team done that before?
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Post by darian on Jun 22, 2015 13:55:02 GMT -5
He lost in 18's last year, but I forgot he played up. He has a second shot now
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2015 14:22:36 GMT -5
Does anyone know why HBC's libero, Blake Diamond, wore pants? Also, if HBC wants an easier time with winning, I would suggest putting Ryne Benson in the whole match instead of just playing back row and never getting set. Vaught isn't better than Benson. Is Blake Diamond not playing collegiately? I know he has a 4.7 GPA but I feel like he is good enough to play college anyway. He wore the pants because he thinks he's the man. Ryne Benson is clearly better than a very overrated Ben Vaught. I saw Benson play against Bones in the backrow and he cranked one but also his defensive presence is killer. HBC is a club that the players are rowdy and cocky so everyone else doesn't like them. In the 17s division, the coach tells the setter where to set mid-point, which is disgusting. That's the setter's job and it also gives them a wildly unfair advantage. |
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Post by darian on Jun 22, 2015 14:50:03 GMT -5
I have a friend on HBC (doesn't get time) that told me Diamond decided to not play collegiality. Was told UCLA gave him an offer before Gillette though. He probably got plenty of offers elsewhere too.
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Post by werebetter on Jun 22, 2015 14:55:33 GMT -5
You all hate us cuz you aint us...the WHAT WHAT has returned and the dark side descends upon volleyball...welcome to the party people, stay awhile
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Post by new2vb on Jun 22, 2015 15:07:07 GMT -5
I think Diamond is going to play at Santa Barbara.
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Post by vballfan3840 on Jun 22, 2015 15:18:34 GMT -5
Winners: 18 HBC 17 HBC 16 Balboa 15 MB Surf 14 Balboa Some observations from watching a lot of the 15s matches - Both Milwaukee teams are average. The MVC team a bit better (still not sure how they were a 2 seed), but they were fortunate in their pools getting fairly weak competition. They made it to the semi-finals by beating one of the weaker SoCal teams (OCVC). They had trouble against the stronger SoCal teams. Same can be said for the Adversity team. Not strong at all. The good news for all of them, however is they now have a good feel for what they will see at Nationals.
- The strongest of the Northern California teams I watched was MVVC. They hung in with some of the better SoCal teams and might surprise some teams at Nationals.
- The HBC team needs to ease up on their phony intimidation tactics. It's one thing to celebrate good plays, it's another to simply go over the top in looking like a 3-ring circus gone bad. I guess the coach is worried that their team needs to get in to the heads of other teams as opposed to winning on merit.
- The best match I watched by far was the semi-final between 949 and MB Surf. There was a good crowd and a lot of energy for both teams. Great players on both sides. The volleyball was very high level. One of the standouts was the MB Surf libero. He was digging and tracking everything. The outside hitters for both teams were very athletic and talented. One of the MB Surf middles also stood out. The MB Surf team just had a bit more fire power with their hitters than the 949 team, but this should have been the finals. These two may well meet up in the final at Nationals.
- The HBC and Pali teams are getting better. I remember watching both of these teams at the qualifier in January. They were both good, but it appears the high school break may have helped. Both teams are quality teams (even with the bit of attitude from HBC). They too could do well at Nationals.
- The At Large bid teams from SoCal are not very strong. OCVC is ok, but SG Elite is very average.
- The tournament was a good one with most of the top seeds showing why they are top seeds. I don't have any knowledge of the teams going to Nationals that have not played in a SoCal tourney (Canadians or Puerto Rican teams in particular), but based on resume, the MB Surf team should get the #1 seed. 949 should be somewhere in the top 5.
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Post by gators12 on Jun 22, 2015 18:49:53 GMT -5
Benson is coming off a dislocated ankle and he should be 100% by nationals . I would bet that he plays all the way around in all big matches.
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Post by vbsocal56 on Jun 22, 2015 18:53:28 GMT -5
Benson is coming off a dislocated ankle and he should be 100% by nationals . I would bet that he plays all the way around in all big matches. Could that be a bad thing? Look how much better Bones is doing without him. |
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