Coaches for a Cause Jamboree - Game #8 - Trinity vs. Pembroke Academy Poll

Vote for and discuss this game here.

Hard to vote

Don't know if W Gabriel is playing.

Heard the NHIAA hasn't ruled on Pembroke's transfers?

I have to say, as of now, the Forum has voted a 71% favoring of Trinity winning this game. I feel there is a 95% favoring of Pembroke winning this game. As of this week Gabriel's foot is in a boot. Carmen G has been passing footballs for the last 3 1/2 months and not basketballs. I saw Trinity in the QCIBT last season when they had the benefit of a couple of more weeks of practice and they were not cohesive at all on the Memorial court and looked out of synch.

With this Jamboree game they are going against Pembroke with a couple of practices, no Gabriel and G's muscles still more acclimated to a football field instead of a basketball court. To my knowledge Pembroke's team is mostly BASKETBALL players who have done Fall League among other basketball related happenings in the last 3 1/2 months.

I'll take Pembroke to garner the W in the marquee game of the Jamboree.

PS - And I get the feeling Pembroke is very prepared and motivated for the 6 pm clash, while Trinity for the month of December (Central game included on the 17th) is preparing for March.

Doesn't it simply come down to who had the better recruiting class this year?

jpsnh37 wrote:Doesn't it simply come down to who had the better recruiting class this year?

Someone opened that can of worms again     

I never thought of the recruiting! I thought it all came down to coaching and x's and o's......

I guess if u cant beat them join them

It all came down to free throws.... Refs called an extremely lopsided game... How does Trinity go to the line 29 times and Pembroke reaches it only 1 single solitary time?

It was pretty easy to see if you were watching the game - Trinity was taking it aggressively to the basket and getting a fair amount of second chance opportunities in close off offensive rebounds, while Pembroke was shooting from the outside quite a bit. When Trinity was taking it in there was a lot of reaching / contact from the the Pembroke defense - to be honest there were a few times you could hear the contact with no fouls called - could have been even more lopsided. Watching from the stands, it didn't feel at all like the calls / non calls were favoring one over the other. Trinity is going to be very tough - besides having a lot of heady players lookng for each other all the time to get the best shot possible, they play excellent team defense and are athletic enough all around to stay away from cheap fouls. They are going to be tough to beat this year.

I totally agree with Hoopfan4's views of this game. I didn't see any foul discord with regards to the teams. Trinity took the ball to the rack more and created more contact. That's fact. Welch opted for the outside shot more often than not. Curran and Timbas were even tossing up their share of 3's. They are 6'7 and 6'5 respectively.

In my view Trinity played better without Gabriel than Pembroke did without Maher. The difference is that Gabriel will be back in 2 weeks and Maher has graduated. My point being is Pemby has a big chink in the Spartan armor by trying to replace Maher. I thought this would be a weakness for Pemby heading into the season and it cost them against Trinity last night. Welch had 17 first half points. In the 2nd half he had to share pt guard duties and it tired his offensive game. He only scored 4 in the 2nd half. Pemby will be doing pt guard by committee. Trinity didn't look rusty at all. This surprised me. G and Rhoades shed their football muscles nicely last night. Rhoades shot looked good. Otis did many things for Trinity. He scored, rebounded, defended and handled the ball. The Otis and Rhoades backcourt combo could be the best backcourt combo in D1 this season. They bring a lot to the table.

The thing that sticks out at you about Pemby when they are warming up is their SIZE. They have 6 players 6'4 or taller. I didn't know so many tall players lived up the little ole area of Suncook/Allenstown  

At one stage of the game in the 2nd half the Pemby lineup was Welch and 4 Bigs. It does look formidable when they bring Big after Big in, but alas you have to handle the ball, pass it, drive with it and shoot it. Trinity did this better last night which is why they won by 6. Trinity did this without Gabriel. Put a healthy Gabriel in the Pioneer mix and give Testa some games to fully realize his role in the rotation and there is no question Trinity is the better team than Pembroke. If they play in 2014, which unless some other NH SportsPage miracle happens, Trinity wins by SOLID double digits. This doesn't take away from Pemby's chances to repeat as D2 Champs. They will defend their title nicely and win most if not all their regular season games in D2.

One thing does stick in my mind. Pemby relies a lot on the swish ability of Welch. In last year's D2 Ship vs Souhegan the rubber met the road in the 2nd quarter when the Spartans had to go the whole 2nd quarter w/o Welch who had 3 fouls. Renee Maher put the team on his back for that 8 minutes and saved their season with his seasoned physical and mental skills. If the situation should arise, if God forbid Welch comes up lame or gets into foul trouble, what other member of this Pemby team has the potential to physically and mentally carry the Spartans on their back?

Great atmosphere last night for the Trinity - Pemby game. Nice showing by the student sections. Dave and Justin controlling the PA. Pete and the Great Kesty almost God-like from the Bronco Balcony plying their trade. Many HS basketball illuminaries in attendance.

Just a great way to kick off the season.