midd faces the winner of st. josephs (maine) and bridgewater state. amherst faces off against gwynedd-mercy (at richard stockton). anybody on this board have any knowledge of the 3 non-nescac teams?

midd gets the first round bye. amherst gets in as well. 

I did a little research, and the third player was Brian Groark (6'5 center who was scouted by many D3 programs but ended up at Union). Played there for only a season, but was a part of the Scarsdale team that won the league championship Dudley and Rudin's senior year.

Quote from: nescac1 on February 22, 2009, 09:44:15 AM


And to answer an earlier question about Rudin, one of the Midd guys can elaborate, but I thought I read somewhere that he was actually lightly regarded coming out of high school, that Midd was in fact more interested in Dudley, his high school teammate, but there was an opening at point guard and he exceeded expectations as a frosh, and took off from there ... either a late bloomer or NESCAC just missed the boat ... speaking of Rudin, Midd folks, is there anyone on the roster in line to replace him at point?  His back-up is also a senior I imagine -- obviously Midd is still enjoying the ride this year, but that will be an enormous hole for that program to fill.  Awesome story about the jersey, good stuff, by the way.

Timmy Edwards will likely assume the PG role next season.  Tim will be able to get the Panthers in their sets without a problem, but he's not the same offensive player that Rudin is.  He'll take smaller guards into the post, and tends to spot up for jumpers (doesn't create quite the same way as Rudin).  As a Panthers fan, I'm not as worried about the PG position, but the number of PPG that will be graduating.  Rudin/Dudley/Smith combine for the vast majority of the teams points (granted they get the most looks).  Ashton Coghlan must reassume the offensive firepower that he displayed his freshman year to really give them a boost.  Defensively, the team should still be solid with Edwards defending the best wing, and the length of Sharry and Locke down low (Midd will miss Smith's physicality).

As for the recruitment of Rudin, I know that Midd was focusing on Dudley (I actually housed him as a recruit, great kid... funniest/most personable recruit I had ever housed).  Rudin on the other hand was being recruited by D3 programs as a soccer player (fairly certain he was a goalie).  On a scouting trip to see Dudley, Rudin impressed, and he was offered a spot on the Midd roster.  Not sure what other NESCAC schools thought, but I think there was a third player from that Scarscdale high school team that ended up at Amherst (may have been a year behind).

Midd 46- Conn 23 at the half.

Rudin has 21 in the first half, and the Panthers have really been pushing the ball up the court. Midd added the audio feed late, so you can listen live here.

http://www.middlebury.edu/athletics/sports/mens/basketball/2008-2009/news/news_633703865598599893.htm

CCsalive, I appreciate the fiery posts, because it has encouraged me to speak up in support of my beloved alma mater.  As an Old Guy disciple (literally) I too share his passion for Midd hoops.  Unfortunately attempting to manage post-college life has limited my fandom to a preseason conversation with an assistant coach during homecoming and checking box scores throughout the season.  Having said all that, I do have a few comments that may be able to provide some insight. 

The impact that Ben Rudin has had on the basketball program (namely making it relevant in a school where hockey is king) can't be emphasized enough.  The funny thing is that during his freshman year, the starting job fell into his lap.  Some off the court issues left him as the only PG on the roster at the start of the season, so Midd didn't really have much of a choice but to play him.  By the end of the year, he was the NESCAC ROY and developed into the emotional/vocal leader of the team.  In my opinion, Rudin's early success had an even greater impact on the program as it gave Coach Brown more confidence in playing his talented young frosh over less talented seniors (which was one of my major criticisms of Brown to that point).  Guys like Dudley, Smith, and Edwards have been able to develop into impact players, and we're seeing the same happen with Locke and hopefully Sharry.

As for this weekend, I think Midd will be as focused as ever.  The '09 class was 1-8 in the league during their freshman year, so they know that it takes your best ball to win NESCAC games.  This group of seniors started as the NESCAC doormat, but plan on leave with a winning legacy.

The only thing that worries me is end of game execution.  In my years following Midd hoops, closing teams out has always been the team's Achilles heel.  In so many years past, we've had just about everybody on the ropes only to become undone in the last 5 minutes.  Hopefully things have changed.  I'll be at Amherst to watch them play Saturday, in what is probably the most important Midd hoops game to date.

In keeping up with some NESCAC basketball alums, Charles Stone is playing basketball in Denmark (as is Evan Thompson, Midd class of '07).  The level of competition out there varies from D1 college ball, to some of the worst D3 teams in the country (I've seen examples of both in person).  But, at any rate, congrats to each of them for keeping their hoop dreams alive.

midd bounces back with a big win against tufts... thompson led the way with 35

Last years Amherst-Midd game was during Middlebury's February break, so there weren't all too many fans in the stands.  As one of the few students who was still on campus at the time, I remembered the game being competitive for the duration.  Amherst went on an early run to take an 8 point lead, and from that point on it was pretty much back and forth.  As that was the only time that I've seen Olson play, I thought that he was steady but not spectacular.  Rudin matched up well against him as they both put up nearly identical numbers (11 pnts and 7 assists for each; Olson had 4 TO's and Rudin had 5).  Olson did hit a big 3 at the end of the game to pretty much put the dagger in Midd's heart, but the game was definately much closer than I expected it to be.  That being said, this years Midd team is definately the deepest and most talented since I've been here..  They have returned all but one player from last years roster (and losing that one senior was addition by subtraction...) and have picked up a freshman, Tim Edwards, a quality guard thats getting serious burn. He has helped Midd push the tempo and generally covers the oppositions best wing player.  If they continue to shoot the ball as well as they have for the past few weeks this game might go down to the final few possessions.  Has Midd played anybody that can defend like Amherst... no they haven't.  But aside from the Hamilton game, they have either won comfortably or blown teams out during this 9 game win streak.  Here's hoping that they make it 10 straight.

Midd took care of business as they easily handled Bowdoin 81-58.  The combination of solid half court D and an inept Bowdoin offense led to easy transition buckets for Midd in the first half and a 20 point lead.  The second half was more of the same as Andrew Harris led a balanced offensive attack against a team that really didn't have a go-to guy.  It really wasn't even as close as the final score suggests as the Polar Bears were able to close the gap during garbage time.  In the end this was a solid win that will hopefully build some momentum for the Amherst/Trinity weekend.

Midd 100- Colby 93.  I knew that Farrell was a great player, but he seemed to have the game of his life, yet Midd was still able to prevail.  The official stats aren't in yet so I don't know how many points he finished with, but he was lights out. He was burying 3's from NBA range, hitting mid range fall aways, and was single handedly keeping Colby in the game.  However, Midd was able to neutralize Cohen as he was in foul trouble all night and he eventually fouled out.  Midd was able to show how potent their offense could be as multiple players continued to make big shots. Rudin and Edwards ran the point efficiently, Harris and Thompson buried their outside J's and Aaron Smith continued to be a beast in the paint.  Maybe this is the year that Midd makes some noise in the Nescac.

my apologies, the final to was actually midd 86- hamliton 84

as a long time reader and a first time poseter, i'm proud to announce that Midd came back from a 17 point deficit to deat Hamilton.  Midd 83- Hamilton 81... i think that was the final (i was listening to the game on the radio and was too ecstatic that they held on to know for sure that was indeed the final score). i do know that they won by 2, and they finally put all the pieces together for the big win which they are capable of.  if midd can keep their balanced, inside-outside attack heading into the nescac, they may be able to knock off a few surprises.