Re; Colby v Amherst playoff game of 07;

For the record, Farrell's shot was off that game; if you were there, you might remember that he badly rolled his ankle half way through the first half. After sitting out, he came back in considerably slowed, and the shot wasn't there. What had been a fairly close game became a blowout.

Lefrakenstein;

You compound your error by insulting another great Colby player, Nick Farrell. Somehow you believe that your basketball acumen exceeds that of those dolts that make All-Conference and All-American selections.

The point being made, which you ignored, is that Cohen was not about pure offense on a team that needed him to be the leading scorer to win. Farrell led the league in scoring that year, and Gaudet was a constant offensive threat as well. But what should have been obvious to anyone that has basketball acumen was that Cohen was all about defense. He was the league's most valuable defensive player as a Junior. He enjoyed playing defense and lived to block shots. He had the knack of always being where the ball was. By the way, if you watched any Colby games when Farrell played, you know that he worked his ass off on defense as well, even though he was on the floor around 35 minutes per game. Since Sticks 11 has reappeared on the board to cite Farrell's impressive stats, I won't be repetitive.

It's not baseball season quite yet, so I don't know how you wound up in left field by comparing Olson to Cohen. No one has ever said Cohen should have been POY over Olson. Comparing a point guard to a Center is dicey to begin with, so why go there? If your point was that Olson had all-around game and Cohen didn't, you are simply wrong.

Lefrakenstein;

As a Colby guy on this board, I can't let your knock against Drew Cohen go unanswered. Cohen did not put up numbers because he was the primary source of scoring on a "crappy team".  He shared the ball with Nick Farrell, an All Conference player and second team All-American, as well as with Mark Gaudet, another great shooter. Artie Cutrone, a second team Nescac selection this year, was the sixth man in Cohen's Senior year. Hardly a "crappy team".

I believe Cohen led all of D3 in blocks as a Junior, and saved many a game with great, defense, and rebounding throughout his career (at 6'6'', not 6'10''). He was a great all-around player.

Formerbant10

Hats off to trinity in their win at Colby. They played very aggressive defense from the openin bell and shot the lights out. With a full gym, and novelty of a home playoff game, I think the home court does give them the edge over Bowdoin. It doesn't hurt to have won the last time out under pressure (trying to get win 600 at home for the coach).

CCsalive and Cruiser;

Thanks for giving me a chance to talk about what a great season Colby has had and to congratulate the team. They are clearly in the top 4 in the league because they are tied for 3rd in Conference play. Also, please take a look at the regional rankings. Colby has played 4 of those teams, and beat 3 (the Elms victory was last year). They also beat Amherst and RIC. Colby's season has been a great one to watch because Dick Whitmore earned his 600th win, and because of some great performances by Colby's players. Adam Choice scored his 1000th career point(as a Junior), and there has been inspired play by the corps of guards (including a little showtime), and Mike Russell in the paint. Both Adam Choice (twice), and Artie Cutrone have been NESCAC players of the week. Colby is hosting the first round of the playoffs or the first time since 2001.

The big difference from last year has been the defense. Perimeter shots are now challenged that once were unopposed, and there is a lot of pure athletisim on that floor. Justin Sherman, Mike Russell and Nick Planeta have been tough and unafraid to mix it up. On offense, the guards continually get to the hoop with penetration that breaks down the defense. Russell and Choice have been tough to stop when they get the ball down low. It has been a fairly balance offense for a team that lacks a traditional big man.

The only team that they don't match up well against is Middlebury. The combination of Smith and Locke down low pose big problems. Locke stops some of the penetration shots, and some of the Russell follow -up shots after some of his many offensive rebounds. Smith is a beast to guard and got Choice into foul trouble in that game. All of the other opponents should result in closely fought and pretty even matchups. Williams shouldn't count on Colby shooting as poorly as they did in the conference game, should the teams face each other again

A shout out to Nescac 1; You are the Oracle of Delphi of the board. I always enjoy the reasoned and informed analysis.



The

Walzy31;

Last year I had to correct your wildly off spread on Amherst v. Colby. Now I must correct your logic. Colby beat Rhode Island College, who just beat Amherst. Colby beat Amherst last Saturday. They are therefore ahead of Amherst in any rational analysis of who is favored in the tourney. The regional NCAA poll also agrees, placing Colby at 7, and Amherst at 9. Colby has three of the last players of the week in the league (with Choice repeating and sharing one week with Rudin). This weekend is crucial, but to say Amherst is ahead of Colby at this point ignores reality.

hoya 73

Wheeler rolled his ankle on the last play of the first half against Colby. He did not play in the second half and had his ankle taped and was on crutches at the end of the game. He didn't have numbers in the first half because Colby played great D against both shooting guards.

Nescac 1

Sorry I misinterpreted-I'm chill again. I partially agree with your assessment of next weekend for Colby. They will be pretty evenly matched against Williams, but if they beat them, the players will be flying so high that it won't matter where or when the game against Middlebury is played. We will see some great matchups that weekend.

Nescac 1;

I don't understand why you are making excuses for Amherst losing at Colby on the "back end" of a Maine road trip. Amherst has the advantage of being probably the most centrally located college in the league, about halfway between New London and Waterville. They had what, a 2 1/2 - 3 hour motorcoach trip to Bowdoin on Friday, and had to wake up on Saturday for a 45 minute- 1 hour trip to Colby to make a 3:00 pm game? I just don't get it. They got beat. And, to anyone that saw the two teams play last year, it wasn't that big a shock.

Formerbant10;

What's your take on Colby vs Trinity? Key matchups to watch? Can you fill us in on what is going right for Trinity?

ccalive;

Here's some free info; Choice is that good, and is one of the top five players in the league. He is now on his second consecutive NESCAC player of the week award. Its not just the scoring; he held Brian Ellis of Bates to 0 points last weekend, and usually holds the other teams' big men in check. He has an all-round game and can play the 3, 4, or 5.

Is Colby the number 4? Time will tell, but the wins in conference against Bates and Bowdoin were not flukes. The Colby guards penetrated  at will against both teams, and the opposing guards shot from the perimeter. Colby played tough defense in both games and made it tough to get off those perimeter shots.
In the paint, Russell and Choice were much quicker and mobile than the opposition, and they rebounded well. The last two games were won without Kyle Donovan, who was sick. His 15 -20 minutes per game greatly strengthen Colby's presence around the hoop. They will be even stronger when this freshman returns and gets his minutes.

And by the way, I find it hard to believe that anyone is putting information on this board that isn't obvious to the coaching staffs from their review of game films.

Nescac hoops;

I saw the Elms play Colby in the Colby Invitational last year. They came in unbeaten in the first eight games of their season and lost a close and intense game to Colby. The Elms ended their season with 14 straight wins.

They were undersized, but a very good and well coached team. Their guards penetrated and ran a great break. I thought they were capable of beating any one of the Nescac teams  except Amherst on any given Saturday. I am not shocked that they are ranked 16 based upon what I saw.

Just some thoughts on the all Nescac picks; as we get deeper into the season, I think it might be worth making some comparisons of players based upon how they have played head to head either last season or this season. Sometimes, as in politics, I think people get caught up with name recognition and the success of a program rather than the merits of the players. And no, I will not name names.

NESCAC 1;

I'm catching up on the board in anticipation of the weekend's games, and saw your post of Jan. 4, that says that Colby is reliant on just a few key guys. They actually have a very solid four in Russell, Choice, Cutrone and Sherman, and the scoring has been spread around pretty evenly among those players. Each player has had at least one 20 pt  game so far. What may make the big difference between a mediocre season and a good season is how fast freshman Kyle Donovan develops. He is a good rebounder, great shot blocker, and can score in the paint.
Colby is also very solid off the bench in the guard position, with Mac Simpson and Christian Van Loenen available. Colby needs to play significantly better defense than last year, however, to win games against the top tier teams in the league.

Nescac1 and CCsalive;

Colby is now using a two guard, three big man line-up instead of the three guard offense they used most of last year. The main reason that Choice has less points is that Mike Russell has been getting the ball a lot and scoring like crazy down low. He has has a 28 and a 26 point game, and leads the Mules in scoring, and has done a great job rebounding. He is only a sophomore, and had been hampered by injuries at the end of last season. Coach Whitmore has been giving significant minutes to a very talented 6'6'' Freshman Kyle Donovan, who has also been getting a lot of touches making blocks, and rebounding. Choice was often the only consistent scoring option in the post last year, but this year the ball is going to be spread around a bit more. Look for Choice to get the ball more when the conference games begin.
They have been starting Artie Cutrone at point, who started at that position last year, and have elevated Justin Sherman to a starting guard position from his role as sixth man last year. Sherman is extremely quick to the rim, and is a strong rebounder, and has contributed to Colby's success so far on the boards.
This team is working to learn a new offense, and the result has been some inconsistent performances. They have a tournament at home this weekend which may give them  them the opportunity to gel. Even though they lost a great shooter with the graduation of Mark Gaudet, I think this team is significantly stronger than last year's team.

Plattsburg blues?

All this whining on the board over a 6 hour drive? As my tag announces, I drive from NY to the Nescac games, and my boys are the Colby White Mules. Six hours and 15 minutes at 75 mph if you don't pee. 6 1/2 to the metropolis of Farmington, Maine for a non-conference game. Sometimes I go back and forth the same day to see one game. Shut up and drive. These are playoff games, be happy your team is in them!