Sorry for my absence gentlemen, work, family concerns & the holidays have limited my time online lately.  I have kept up reading the boards, but just hav not had much time to get into the conversations.

Anyway, I have a few minutes here now, and did have to respond to the notion the one cannot consider those below 25 as ranked. 

Given that those who recieved votes are by defintion considered by some to be in the top 25 over those teams who recieved NO votes, it is not at all unreasonable to say the 4th team past #25 is ranked at #29.

That entire concept of a poll is based on opinion to start with.  as an example, in this weeks poll, if St.Mary's is not the #26 team, then how can one claim Wooster is #25?

The logic of saying they are ranked #28 or # 37 is as sound as saying Augustana is #18.  because they got 2 more points than Chapman.  These are the teams the pollsters considered the best in the country at this point in time.  The numerical scoring is the choosen system to determine the order.

Those "others" are indeed ranked, just not "IN" the top 25.

Hugenerd,

   First, Congratulation to MIT on thier first ever top 25 appearance and a great start to the season.  The conference games this year look to be very interesting games. 

  I have seen a couple of the WPI games, and will take some time tonight to hit my word processor gather my "insights".

  How is your family doing?  In case my wife has other plans, and I do want to wish you and everyone here a very Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.

   

It will be interesting to see how these new big guys fair in the conference.  I saw very, very little in coaching style or on court ability to actually take advantage of low post mis-matches in the games I saw last season.
Most of the guards in this league have serious trouble making the lob entry to a big who is being fronted.

I think it's a stretch to say any big guy will dominate this conference, let alone all of D3 until we find out if his teammates understand how & when to get the ball into proper position in the low post.

I would enjoy seeing the low post game being developed more across the board in D3.  It seems to be it has become a lost art form in general.  Of course there is always the arguement of how much has the 3-ptr changed the game and taken away from more consistent low post play.  I for one feel the very best teams usually have a good balance between the two.

I am usually posting in the basketball boards here, but just had to stop in and give a big hand to WPI.

Congratulations to the WPI baseball team!  They have had the greatest baseball season in school history and will played for the first time ever in the D3 NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament!

Hugenerd,

   Sorry it has been a while, I hope your family is doing well & that your wife enjoyed a great Mother's Day.

   Sure looks like MIT is stealing all the off-season thunder.  I was looking at Brown's site & Hollingsworth was not even listed on the roster.  He is in the stat sheet (6 games - 23 minutes).  Any idea what happened to him there?  It appears  that he did not play in the 2nd semester (not in any of the game stat sheets including blowouts).  Was it a grades issue?, or dissatisfaction with his role n the program there at Brown ?

   Any insight on other NEWMAC recruits?  I have seen a few things on NERR, but have not heard much else at all.  I see that Clark, Babson & Wheaton have picked up a few players.   I have not seen or heard anything about Coast Guard, WPI or Springfield.

I will be posting this on the baseball site too, but since its more historic NEWMAC news I thought I would throw it out here as well.

Congratulations to the WPI baseball team!  They have had the greatest baseball season in school history and will played for the first time ever in the D3 NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament!

Not much noise on the recruiting front so far this year.  I would expect that will change in the few weeks as all the Financial Aid packages go out.

With the current economic mess, I guessing most people lost a good piece of whatever they had been able to set aside for college bills.  This year, I am sure that those aid packages will have more to do with where most kids end up than a basketball program.  This is especially true for the D3 landscape.

Congratulations to Jimmy Bartolotta - Give those D1 boys hell !

Great Pub for the NEWMAC too !

Come on now, surely someone out there has some more closing thoughts on this season.  Some insights for next year.  News on incoming players.  Some Congrats for an outgoing senior.

Ok, I'm grasping at straws, but I'm trying to keep the conversation going.  In couple more weeks, my wife will have the annual spring cleaning list posted and my time on the computer will be even more limited than it is now.  LOL

JustAfan,

   I managed to take in a few of the WPI games this season.  I'm an "old school" guy when it comes to basketball.  I firmly believe the most successful & consistent teams operate from the inside out.  You need a strong inside game to provide openings for your outside shooters.  By strong, I mean the ability to score from both sides of the lane in the low post, consistently box out, and be able to defend in the low post.  If your have true low post presence, then your outside game, and dribble penetration will be much, much more effective.

   Now, the game has progressed a great deal from my youth (I grew up watching Russell, Chamberlain, Alcindor/Jabbar, Unseld, Walton, Silas, etc.)  Today's game is indeed a guard dominated game at the college level, but the best teams still have good low post players.  There will be games where you guard play is down and the 3 points shooters are off.  If you don't have a strong inside game to go to when the outside game is off, you have big problems.  For what it is worth (probably not much more than Citibank stock right now) here are my observations and thoughts.

  WPI fell into this situation against Springfeild in the NEWMAC semi-finals.  They shot under 25% and half of their FG attempts were 3's.  Lessard was in foul trouble and only played 8 minutes going 0-1 with 4 boards, Perez played 22 minutes going 1-2 with 6 rebs & Carr played 5 minutes going 0-3 with 2 rebounds. As you noted, Stewart did not play in that game.  So you got only 6 FGA from the group and from the stat sheet, they went 13 for 54, with 29 of the attempts being 3-pointers.

   I am not sure what the status of Stewart is.  It does seem certain that something happened, but what will most likely remain internal. That is my guess, it's not based on any particular knowledge.  From what I could gather watching the games i did get to, I think Coach Bartley prefers smaller more athletic players over the typical big man.  He had 2 "big men" on the roster.  Lessard at 6'8" and he must be 245-250 in weight and Carr at 6'7" and rather wiry.  Stewart at 6'4"&  Perez at 6'3" provide a different look down low, but struggled against players in the 6'6" and above range.  They also have a couple of other freshmen Peter White & Dave Brown at 6'3".  White is listed as a forward & Brown a guard.  Lessard is a bit cumbersome and has difficulty handling the ball in the low post.  He will often pass the ball out when he should be attacking the rim. He is the only junior on the team and will need to refine his skills to make a bigger impact next year. Perez had flashes of brilliance this year.  He is undersized at the power forward slot, but uses his body very well.  He is also one of guys who just seem to have a nose for the ball.  He put up a couple of double-doubles down the stretch of the season at Babson & in the opening round win over Husson in the NCAAs.  He is also a good defender in the scheme coach Bartley employs.  If he can develop his right hand, he could be all-conference next year.  Carr didn't play all that much this season, but I did see him play a couple of times and he could be a real presence next year.  He appears to have the ability to be an offensive force from either side of the lane and boxes out very well on the boards. He very long and wore a knee brace this year.  From what I was told he is lost his senior high school season to an ACL tear. Even with a brace, he seems to get well above the rim with ease.  If he puts on some weight, he may be the perfect compliment to Perez inside.  White seems to be a leaper and more suited to the small forward position rather than the power forward slot.  Brown got into 19 games and my guess is he will be part of the guard rotation next year.  He is a good passer and can elevate over a lot of defenders.

In the games I managed to get to, Stewart looked to be the most polished and well-rounded offensive player of their big guy group.  Again, I think a bit undersized at center, but he did a great job of creating space to get off that 6 to 8 foot jumper.  He also was strong enough to attack the rim even against slightly bigger players.  The one feature I felt I brought that the others did not was the elbow/free throw line jumper.  Why he fell into the proverbial 'dog house', I cannot say.  One could make guesses or assumptions, but that would be unfair to the player & coach.

It would appear that Kyle Nadeau will take over for Lirette at PG.  Ben Etten will most likely remain in the small forward/guard slot. Jeff Robinson will most likely move into Jerome Kirkland's position.  Ryan Stock will most likely be involved in coming off the bench in both a guard and small forward role.  Todd Rappaport will join Brown as part of the guard rotation coming of the bench.  They will provide a some size at the guard position as well.

Overall, WPI should again be the top team in the NEWMAC.  MIT may have Billy Johnson back, but who knows what kind of team Coach Anderson will have to patch together next year.  Springfield beat WPI in the tournament, but they lose two key starters in Strawson & White.  They will do better in the regular season next year, but I do not think they can overtake WPI.  Clark gave WPI its only conference loss in the regular season and they will have the ROY back in Brian Vayda, but they lose 2 of their top 5 scorers.  Wheaton graduates 5, but only Mark Sullivan & Nick Michel were big factors.  Babson loses four, including Zach Etten and Pat Belniak.  Coast Guard will have to find someone to fill Craig Johnson's shoes.

Right now, I have not seen anything about committed incoming freshman.  I guessing that that our current economic mess has put a lot more stress & strain on families with kids starting college this fall.  Overall financial aid packages & a very strong focus on the academic avenue will most likely outweigh basketball concerns this year.

Feel free to offer up any other insights on WPI or other teams in the conference!

Congratulations to Jimmy Bartolotta from me as well.  Very well deserved honor and a great way for him to end a fantastic career!  I wish him nothing but the best of luck in his quest to play in Europe.

Great for the conference too, the NEWMAC now lays claim to 2 of the last 3 Joosten Awards.

I did get to the WPI-UMD game on Saturday.  UMD came out hard and got WPI to turn the ball over numerous times early in the game.  WPI managed to stay within striking distance, but was never able to overcome that early deficit.

NT Izuchi kept WPI in the game going 3 for 3 from outside the arc in the games first 10 minutes or so, but only took 1 more shot during the rest of the game.  While WPI never seemed to find a go-to guy on the offensive end, UMD had 3 of them. Reece Freeman, Matt Walker & Brandon Shelton played great to carry UMD to the Sweet 16.  Walker had an amazing game going 9-9 from the field including 2 3's.  Freeman went 8 for 11 with 5 assts and Shelton was 6-12 and 4 out 5 from the free-throw line.  Another player who stepped up and hit crucial shots in the second half was Tom Henneberry.  His 2 three's each came at points where WPI had a chance to cut the lead under 5.

WPI had several opportunities to get the lead less than 5 points, but every time they got there, someone on UMD stepped up and made the big play.  UMD got a little sloppy committing 7 turnovers that helped to keep WPI close, but it was not enough for the Engineers to overcome a 16-2 differential in points off turnovers in the 1st half.

WPI was led by senior Adam Lirette's 12 points and 3 assts.  Jeff Robinson & Fernando Perez added 11 each.  Seniors Izuchi & Jerome Kirkland tossed in 9 and 7 points respectively.

The matchups favored the quicker Corsairs for most of the day.  The only advantage WPI had was some height inside, where Bennett Lessard posted 6 points & 5 rebounds, but he only played 17 minutes and his back up did not play at all. Perez did get a few scoring opportunities inside, but he only got about 4 of his 7 shot attempts from the low post offense and only took 2 shots in the 1st half.   In the end, UMD actually outscored WPI 38-32 in the paint.

In the second half, WPI went to a different kind of defense where they had Lessard playing UMD PG - Reece.  He was playing off him, sagging back into the paint giving Reece the 15 foot jumper.  This did seem to throw UMD off for a short time, but late in the game Reece started driving the lane and came up with a layup that bumped the lead to 9 pts and then the final dagger when hit a short jumper with 1:20 to go that pushed the lead to 8 and WPI never got that close again.

WPI did a good job to come back and stay in the game after looking very shaky at the outset.  Unfortunately for the Engineers, UMD had too many weapons and just shot the lights out going almost 60% from the field (48% from 3 land).  UMD is now 27-3.

WPI finishes another very successful season at 21-6.

I see that MIT lost as well, but what a great year for the NEWMAC.  Two teams into the tournament and both picked a win!  Congratulations to both teams for giving us some great basketball to enjoy this year!

WPI did indeed destroy Husson tonight, winning by a score of 86-57.
The Engineers dominated the game throughout, taking a double digit
lead with about 8 minutes left in the first half and Husson never
got the lead down to single digits again.  WPI's defensive intensity
was there all night.  That defense created 22 Husson turnovers which
were converted into 21 pts.  Also that deep WPI bench outscored
Husson's bench 49 to 20.  Husson was also plagued by foul trouble as
3 players fouled out of the game.

WPI had 4 players post double digits in scoring:
Jerome Kirkland – 15 pts
Fernando Perez – 14 pts
Jeff Robinson – 11 pts
Matt Carr - 10 pts

Altogether, 12 players scored.  Perez posted a double-double by adding 10 rebounds.

Husson was led by :

Scott Kissinger - 10 pts
Matt Mckenzie - 9 pts
Brock Bradford - 8 pts
Nick Perras - 8 pts

I will give the Husson supporters some kudos here though.  They were very
supportive and vocal for their team and displayed great sportsmanship.

Here is the link to the press realease :

http://wpi.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2008-09/news/mbb030609game

WPI will play UMass-Dartmouth tomorrow at 7 PM for a spot in the Sweet 16!


Hugenerd,

   Great to hear that MIT also won their game!  Your right, a GREAT night for
the NEWMAC!

Hugenerd,

   Good Luck To MIT tonight, I am planning to go to the WPI game tonight. (Convinced my wife that we can call it a date by going out to dinner after the game!).  I hope to see some of the 2nd game too, but if one is all i get, I have to take that and be happy...LOL

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers
 
Rank in last d3hoops poll: NR (Tie - #29)       
Pool C qualifier from the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)
20-5 Overall; 11-1 NEWMAC (1st); 9-2 home; 10-3 road; 1-0 neutral     
Head Coach - Chris Bartley (8th season)         

Key Wins         
11-20 At Rhode Island College, 11-22 vs. Brandeis, 11-25 Vs Lasell, 1-28 Vs. MIT

Record Against NCAA Tourney Teams - (4-2) W-RIC, Brandeis, MIT (twice); L-Salem St., Elms       

STARTERS
3 Jerome Kirkland, Guard       5'10" Sr  13.0 PPG, 2.6 RRG, 1.8 APG, 57 STL; All-NEWMAC 1st Team
11 Adam Lirette, Guard          5'10" Sr   8.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.2 APG, 32 STL; All-NEWMAC 2nd Team
12 Kyle Nadeu, Guard            5'8"  So   4.8 PPG. 2.1 RPG, 1.8 APG, 27 STL;
21 Ben Etten, Forward           6'2"  So   9.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.5 APG; All-NEWMAC 2nd Team, NEWMAC All-Academic Team
24 NT Izuchi, Forward           6'2"  Sr   5.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 0.5 APG;

BENCH
13 Jeff Robinson, Guard         6'1"  So  11.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.0 APG; NEWMAC All-Academic Team
14 Todd Rapport, Guard          6'1"  Fr   0.8 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 0.6 APG;
22 Fernando Perez, Forward      6'3"  FR   7.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 0.5 APG;
23 David Brown, Guard           6'3"  FR   0.9 PPG, 0.4 RPG, 0.4 APG;
31 Matt Carr, Center            6'7"  FR   1.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.2 APG;
32 Will Lyons, Forward          6'4"  SR   2.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.6 APG; NEWMAC All-Academic Team
33 Jerome Stewart, Forward      6'4"  FR   5.4 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.4 APG;
42 Peter White, Forward         6'3"  FR   0.9 PPG, 0.3 RPG, 0.1 APG;
45 Bennett Lessard, Center      6'8"  JR   3.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG; 0.1 APG;
55 Ryan Stock, Guard            6'2"  SO   0.7 PPG, 0.4 RPG, 0.1 APG;

Statistics         
Points/Game: WPI (71.7) Opponent (62.8)         
Rebounds/Game: WPI (36.2) Opponent (33.5)         
FG%: WPI (44.9) Opponent (41.3)         
3PT%: (30.1); FT% (69.4)         

Notes         
-This is WPI's 5th consectutive appearance in NCAA Tournament.  They reached the Sweet 16 in 2005.

-WPI was ranked as high as 17th in the D3Hoops poll this year and 1st in the NCAA Regional Rankings for the Northeast.

-WPI will use it's deep bench a lot, as well as mix up the starting lineup to match up with the opposition.

WPI89,

   Did you attend the WPI/Springfield game last week?  If so, what were your insights?  What do you think they need to do to gather a couple of wins this weekend?

   I have only seen a very few games and would appreciate anythin you can throw into the discussion on this year's team.

Before  I forget!

Congratulations to Jerome Kirkland, Ben Etten, & Adam Lirette of WPI for gathering All-Conference Honors!  Also glad to see Zach Etten from Babson up there too (as an older brother myself, I always root hard for the older one in brother-brother battles)

I do  agree with you Hugenerd in that I would have placed Johnson on the first team over Crean as well.  Both are deserving, but Johnson was asked to play huge minutes as well as alter his own style of play to help the team.  Numbers aside, performing the way he did under those circumstances (knowing there was really no backup for him to play down low) puts him on the first team in my mind.