formerbant- what about the disastrous williams game? 

formerbant, i was talking about this year...and looking at the semis, it seems as if rhoten faltered when his team needed him...and bedford didnt (in semis and finals)......as far as numbers, you're right that it is impossible to say what each player would do on a different team, so i think you have to treat both player's fantastic stats equally....therefore, i would then look at how they performed in big games...and bedford wins...trinity was in position to host the tournament in the regular season, and had an oppurtunity to make the nescac finals...but rhoten didnt play as well in those big situations...thats why i think HE should be happy with his first team selections, and bedford should be POY

i agree with nescac1...rhoten had his best years as a junior and senior and he couldn't even get his team past the nescac semi's...bedford is statistically equal, had he been able to play rhoten type minutes...and bedford also stepped up his game and led his team to another nescac chaimpionship...how he wasnt AT LEAST co-player of the year is beyond me...what a disservice to a great player

I think Olsen's a bit over-rated...any good point guard could be averaging 7 assists a game on a team like amherst with so many scoring options...olsen's a defensive liability and struggles against bigger, stronger point gaurds (see rochester game last year)...amherst played much better when corrigan came in against tufts...corrigan should be getting more time, especially against teams with bigger guards....

all of a sudden i dont see any arguement against bedford for POY...is that cause he stepped up his game in the semis and finals to win the NESCAC tourny while rhoten shot 33%, fouled out and lost?  hmmm..... ill say it again...bedford should be player of the year, no doubt...

not a good game for rhoten in his last nescac appearance...makes bedford an even easier pick

trinity loses in the semi's...bedford POY....if they win, whoever performs best in the championship gets it...bedford put up some numbers today as he has in the past weeks to get his team to the finals

you really think rhoten would be able to handle playing 15 minutes some games, only shooting 11 times a game, and not getting the recognition for being a great player because his team was so strong?  no chance...hes too into his own game to let those things happen, which would ultimately hurt amherst...you can't say that amherst would win the national title and go undefeated if you swapped them...who are you to say how rhoten would mesh with the rest of the players....from what i have heard about his history, players dont always seem to get along with him

If you know the game, it is a travesty putting Bedford 6th on a list for POY.  Look at his production for A. the number of minutes he is playing and B. the number of shots a game he is taking.  It is amazing that he has been able to score as much as he has with so little oppurtunities.  Put him on another team in the NESCAC and he would be putting up Rhoten-like numbers.  The fact is, because Amherst is so good, he is not able to shine statistically in the way that he would if he were on a weaker team.  Bedford and Rhoten are both great players, and Rhoten has had a great career...but there is no way to tell how ridiculous bedford's numbers would be if he was on a weaker team.  So in the case of a tiebreaker, I would look at team record giving it to bedford...plus in the last weeks of play bedford has really elevated his game and put his team in the best postion to gain homecourt advantage.  Rhoten and Trinity had the oppurtunity to lock up the NESCAC by elevating their play and they didnt....Bedford POY

sorry, i didnt know that hixon had reached "god" status...and i can criticize his coaching if i see fit, this is what a message board is supposed to be about....all im saying from what ive seen is that hixon doesnt look like he quite knows what to do with this team, regardless of their 20-2 record...with the amount of talent amherst has they should not be trailing at halftime to colby

I agree that certain situations determine subing patterns, but of the games ive seen recently there is no rhyme or reason as to why certain players are playing and others not...to be honest it often looks as if hixon is just chosing a position and then picking out of a hat to determine which player will go in...

spoken like a true coach...but from a player perspective, as a team you have to get used to a rotation on the court before you play your best...regardless of your attitude about "playing your butt off whenever you get the chance" and gelling in practice...games are when you really come to know a player....and it doesnt just effect bench players, it effects the starters level of play also...

Midd Range--I realize that bedford, olson, wheeler all get there minutes in close games, but almost all great teams will have an eight or nine man rotation set by the end of the season...everyone knows there role, and a team can gel...but this year players 4-8 are different every night...how can you expect a team to come together when everyone but olsen, bedford, wheeler are "disgruntled" because they have no idea what minutes they will be getting on any given night? 

first time poster....i find it hard to believe that hixon is recieving so much praise this season...it is obvious to me that he has no idea what he is doing from game to game as far as substitutions.  some guys are playing 25 minutes one game and then 5 minutes the next.  just look at the boxscore..in a relatively close game against middlebury, john casnocha, a senior starter played a total of ten minutes!  how can you expect a team to gel when players don't know if they'll be playing 20 minutes or 3 from game to game.  and people can say to just look at their record but my response to that is that with the amount of potential and talent the amhest team has this year, they are much better than their record and some of these closer games have shown....its sad because i feel that if their is no gelling and set rotation now, there won't be one for the rest of the season, whihc will ultimatly hurt amherst's chances in the NCAA's