How can Weitzen be on the second team over Wheeler? That is a complete joke. Look what they did last saturday.

Dr. Splenger has hit it right on the head. This amherst team has what it takes to make it to Salem because they do not have any egos and have 4-5 guys who would be first or second team all-nescac selections if they played on any other NESCAC team. The fact that Wheeler is not a first or second team selection is completely rediculous. Over the last two weekends (which have all been must win games for Amherst) he has been simply unconscious from the field. Amherst  is so deep that when looking at potential All-Nescac selections you cannot simply look at stats. You have to realize that they sacrifice a few baskets a game in order to run through NESCAC opponents. I can confidently say that Rhoten would not average more than 15 a game IF he had the opportunity to play for the Jeffs. Also, Olson outplayed Ray this year and was huge in the first half at Williams when the rest of the team seemed to be a little tight. The way that Amherst has ended the season should guarantee them at least 3 players on the first and second teams.
On another note, Tim McLaughlin should run away with the defensive player of the year award. If anyone has any doubt about his defensive abilities, check out his stats from the first half of the Bates game. Five blocks in a half....not bad for a backup guard.
I really hope that Williams wins this weekend so that the Amherst senior can graduate with a 7-6 record against Williams. The class of 2006 would be the first winning class against the Ephs in a long time.

formerbant, I know that you know a tremendous amount about the talent in the NESCAC, but there is one thing that you guys are missing when making these first and secnd team lists. If Weitzen , Petrie, or Taylor played in a system like Amhersts' they would not put up numbers remotely near Bedford. These guys are good to average players on teams that are desperate for scoring threats. Amherst has so many options that Bedford would be hurting the team by firing up the number and quality of shots that other players in the league take. While i dont know the exact numbers, I thought that I saw that Rhoten scored 22 points on 21 shots in one game and 24 points on 26 shots in another. Tonight Bedford scored 23 points on 12 shots. That is the sign of a good player, he gets his points on nearly half the shots.  It would be scary to see what Wheeler and mostly  Bedford would do if every play was run for him and he had the green light every posession.

Once again another dominating performance by Amherst. Unless Rhoten gets over the "Amherst" hump this year he will be best remembered as the Shareef Abdul Raheem of the NESCACs. Schiel made it to one final four, and an elite eight. Rhoten leads his team to the NESCAC semifinals. Until a Rhoten led team actually wins something it is a joke to compare the two players. If Bedford or Wheeler played as many minutes as Rhoten they would put up just as solid numbers this year. The problem is they are blowing everyone out.

I was at the Amherst-WNEC game tonight and after seeing their big men play there is no doubt that they will run through NESCACs and be a top seed in March. I know that March is far away but their big men give them an outside presence which most teams cannot match. Also, what is scare is that Adolphe only plays 15-20 minutes a game. He is so athletic and still learning the system, but he is going to be unstoppable once Hixon wakes up and actually starts giving him the minutes that his talent deserves. Zelaski is proving to be a solid backup to Olsen who is simply not making mistakes even though the season is young. It is going to be fun to watch Amherst beat the Bantams and Williams handily this year. If only Paulsen could recruit.........