Longtime peripheral follower of 'Cac athletics, every three years or so poster...

Is it a done deal that Kelton is done come next Monday? It's been fascinating to see Williams go from powerhouse to bottom feeder and I've been wondering since probably mid 2013 whether he'd be canned. Sounds like now he will be? Or is there a chance he's given more time. If you graduate kids and keep them out of trouble, it's always tricky to fire a guy in D3. Who are the $$ people asking the pres to get rid of him? If he won this wknd, could he save his job?

Also: as a longtime UMass fan, you're utterly deluding yourselves if you think Kevin Morris is the answer. By all means, do what you want. I don't have a dog in this fight (grew up in WMass, went to a UAA school in a different part of the country, married a Williams grad, happen to be a huge UMass supporter since childhood), but Morris was widely regarded as being about the polar opposite of a people person. Carried himself as if he was above it all and was condescending to press and media alike. Excuse after excuse for poor performance. And his play calling was maddeningly frustrating. No rhyme or reason to it whatsoever. He got a bit of a raw deal at UMass in that his tenure was sandwiched between talk of dropping down to non-scholarship ball and then robust upgrades in order to go FBS, but he could have had Alabama's resources and he still wouldn't have been successful.

Yes, Williams is very different as an institution than UMass, but a lot of the traits of great coaches are universal and it never seemed like Morris possessed them. Just didn't seem able to motivate kids.

Best NESCAC game I've ever seen and best basketball game at any level I've seen since Cuse UConn 6OT thriller in Big East tourney a few years back. Simply unreal. Hopefully Workman's shot gets on Sports Center. Deserves it. Toomey just couldn't buy a bucket tonight and I was a bit surprised that he kept looking to score in the OT's, even as Workman and Kasilla were dominating. It's a great sign for the Jeffs that Toomey can struggle like that and that they still have the firepower to win a game like that on the road. I think the difference for Amherst this year, though, is the improvement of Kasilla. In years past, he looked passive and timid for long stretches. Of late, he's looked like one of the better big men I've seen in D3 this year. Amherst will be a tough out in the big dance this year, particularly because they'll very likely get to host all the way through.

Question (and apologies if you've discussed this ad nauseum already, as I'm not a regular on these boards): How do folks think the committee will split up WPI, Amherst, Williams and Midd in the brackets? And where would Rochester fall into this mix? I'd assume there'd be two pods featuring the five (3 in one and 2 in the other) but does anyone have any informed conjecture on how they'd do this?

Looking forward to heading up for the NESCAC tourney in a couple weeks.

Dylan was, in part, the victim of a lot of difficult circumstances in his time at WU. He came in as one of the most highly-touted WUSTL recruits in school history. That was at a time when the team was coming off its first title and attracting more attention than it probably ever will again. They were fully expected to win another two titles in his first two seasons and took one him his freshman year. With the amount of talent at the 2/3 position that year (Cam Smith, Aaron Thompson even Tyler Nading was really a 3 man at his core), he wasn't  going to see a ton of time no matter how good he was. He played well in stretches but got injured during the stretch run and never really found his way into the core rotation, in part because he wasn't needed. You had a national title team bringing back 4 starters and an all-American pg who'd brought the team to the final 4 as a sophomore but was injured as a junior. Then, Richter's sophomore year, pretty much everyone returned besides Nading. Again, where were you gonna play him? You had an all-American 2 guard in Thompson and perhaps the best glue guy in D3 in Cam Smith. Then part of the problem his junior year was that the team lost so much talent from the year before that they really had to learn how to play under new circumstances. Spencer Gay and Richter were both very solid, but they lacked the supporting cast or experience to win some close games and the year proved to be a disappointment. This year, Richter was clearly the guy for the first time in his career and he played terrificly well. UAA POY speaks for itself. Once he was given the spotlight, he shined. And, frankly, there was no way he was going to be a star during his first two seasons due to all the talent they had on the roster. Additionally,  Mark Edwards plays the same way, no matter the personnel. Great guy, but there's no denying that fact. Truth is, Richter might be remembered as one of the most athletic players in WU history, but Edwards' style doesn't necessarily favor a pace which would benefit Richter from D1. He runs his wings off of a lot of screens and favors the catch-and-shoot, 4 out type sets. On occasion, that leads to a backdoor cut and a Rihter alley-oop, but overall, it favors guys who are great shooters. Dylan wasn't touted as a great shooter when he came in and I give him all the credit in the world for leaving Wash.U as a much improved shooter.

Talent-wise, he is absolutely one of the top 5 guys I've seen in my time following Wash.U. (8 or so years but with familiarity of the five or so years prior), but he's also undergone some of the most unfortunate of circumstances from an individual level (ie, so many greats in front of him). For him to have led this young group the way he did is a clear sign of how much he matured in his time at Wash.U. For that, he ought to be brought and the WU hoops family ought to be as well.

How one earth is Amherst going to seat the number of people that want to be there this weekend? Not even bring critical, just inquiring. I'm assuming they'll clear the gym after the women's games but it doesn't sound like there's a ton of time to do that. Middlebury always travels well, Wesleyan is only an hour away and I'm fairly certain Bates has a kid from Amherst plus an assistant coach with huge ties in the area, so they will have a sizable contingent as well. Then you have two Amherst teams hosting. The place fits, what, 1400, 1600 with standing room at the most? To me it would seem a lot more logistically feasible to provide, say, 200 seats to each of the visiting schools and then sell the rest in advance at Amherst.

In the event that they're not going to clear the gym, I'd imagine it will be a nightmare trying to find a seat, since the Amherst womens fans are probably going to stick around (obviously there will be a lot of crossover fans...ie those who root for both teams, but you still have families of womens players who wouldn't always go to men's games but will definitely do so on this weekend). I unfortunately won't be able to get up there for the games, but I'll tell the people I know who are going to get there at 10:30 prompt. I have a feeling a mighty large number of people are going to get turned away.

A few days back, I rather boldly predicted the following: "Midd -12 vs Williams." Most people seemed to think I was nuts and I almost second guessed myself and readjusted the line. Glad I didn't. The house always wins.

Modification: oooo and so so close on Amherst, who I set at -18, but who hit a late 3 to win by 20.

Early spreads for next weekend in Amherst: Amherst -12.5 vs Bates and Middlebury -7.5 vs. Wesleyan.
Tourney odds: Amherst even money. Middlebury 3 to 2 odds. Wesleyan 7 to 1 and Bates 25 to 1. Sharry and Toomey each 2 to 1 on MOP. Workman 5 to 1. Sha Brown 8 to 1.

Not trying to steal Walzy's thunder here but curious to see if he agrees with me re: spreads.Midd -12 vs Williams. Amherst -18 vs Hamilton. Hopefully I will make it up for the Amherst game before heading over to the UMass game and then back to NYC for Wash.U NYU on Sunday.

Re home win streaks and wash u: pretty sure wash u won 33 in a row during their 3 year run of dominance. Ended up taking 42 of 44  as they won 8 or 9 more after the 33 was snapped.

Looking forward to seeing Wash.U.-NYU in person next weekend, as the game now appears to have serious title implications. In fact, assuming Wash.U. wins at Deis on Friday (hardly a safe assumption), would not a win over the Violets give them the championship outright? Or am I missing something?

Anyway, very excited to see the 2011-2012 Bears live, as I haven't done so in two years. There is a Wash.U alumni event at the Coles Center and those always draw a ton of WUSTL people, so I'd imagine fans of the Red and Green might even create a home court advantage here in the Big Apple. Some fan bases travel well; ours just relocates well.

Another possible candidate for the Colby job would be 05 alum Jamie Snyder-Fair. He has been an assistant at Amherst, Washington and Lee, and is currently at Yale. You'd think he'd get a look, particularly with Bates going young in their recent hire and the fact that he has coaching/recruiting experience with similar types of athletes. Being an alum can only help. Not to mention, other former NESCAC assistants (notably Flockerzi) being successful in their first jobs after stints as assistants.

Good luck to the NESCAC teams this weekend. And Pat, any word on when the standings for the d3 pick em will be posted?

Caught the Amherst-Midd game this weekend and here are a few thoughts.

*Amherst is one of the most talented teams I've seen in D3 in some time, but Middlebury is a classically championship-calibre Division 3 basketball team. The distinction is important because I think it's ultimately what propelled Midd to the title. Amherst had more talent and athleticism on the floor, but Middlebury won the game by playing tougher and more poised team basketball down the stretch. Bucket (nice meeting you by the way) made a lot of great points about the team's strengths and while I was rooting for Amherst, I couldn't help but rave about Midd once I got to reflecting on the game. They just relentlessly go at teams and make opponents have to work incredibly hard to the point of being demoralized. And, more impressively, they stay true to their sets throughout the game. Never once did I think Middlebury would win that game on Saturday. I figured Amherst would come up with a key bucket and ultimately put the nail in the coffin. Yet Midd kept coming back on every single possession until they had quite literally willed their way to victory. They remind me a lot more of the midwest teams that make national championship runs than of some of the great nescac squads that have won it all (though I see some similarities to the Williams 03 squad). There is no Andrew Olson or James Wang on their roster and yet they just get it done. I'll still be pulling for the Jeffs in the tourney (and hoping they find a bit more toughness down the stretch, frankly) but if they fall, the Panthers will be my squad this year.

sorry, meant to post this in nescac forum.

Caught the Amherst-Midd game this weekend and here are a few thoughts.

Amherst is one of the most talented teams I've seen in D3 in some time, but Middlebury is a classically championship-calibre Division 3 basketball team. The distinction is important because I think it's ultimately what propelled Midd to the title. Amherst had more talent and athleticism on the floor, but Middlebury won the game by playing tougher and more poised team basketball down the stretch. Bucket (nice meeting you by the way) made a lot of great points about the team's strengths and while I was rooting for Amherst, I couldn't help but rave about Midd once I got to reflecting on the game. They just relentlessly go at teams and make opponents have to work incredibly hard to the point of being demoralized. And, more impressively, they stay true to their sets throughout the game. Never once did I think Middlebury would win that game on Saturday. I figured Amherst would come up with a key bucket and ultimately put the nail in the coffin. Yet Midd kept coming back on every single possession until they had quite literally willed their way to victory. They remind me a lot more of the midwest teams that make national championship runs than of some of the great nescac squads that have won it all (though I see some similarities to the Williams 03 squad). There is no Andrew Olson or James Wang on their roster and yet they just get it done. I'll still be pulling for the Jeffs in the tourney (and hoping they find a bit more toughness down the stretch, frankly) but if they fall, the Panthers will be my squad this year.

Gosh I wish the UAA had a conference tournament. I know it would be logistically unfeasible, but I can still dream.

Caught Amherst for the second time this year. In terms of completeness as a player, I haven't been as impressed by a D3 player, let alone rookie, since perhaps Tyler Nading at Wash.U. a few years ago (I'm more of a UAA guy). Toomey just does all the little things well and doesn't force anything. He is a pure basketball player.

Only other thought today: Trinity's #31 HAS to be an all crazy first teamer. Why one earth did he think imitating Rodney Harrison was an effective thing to do in the low paint? Never a fan of calling a guy out at this level, but that was dirty and dangerous. And, mostly, it was just plain inexplicable.

UMass, my hometown team and the only squad I follow even closer than Wash.U, is playing UAA Brandeis tonight in an exhibition. Very excited to watch it. Deis would have given a super young and inexperienced UMass team a game last year, but they graduated a lot and UMass should be better. UMass by 24.