Re: THE All Crazy Team selections - there is not a single player in the 'Nescac that wouldn't/doesn't feel honored to be recognized.  Sha is a baller and in reading that there are just as many nods to his achievements on the court as there are to his antics.  Everyone messes with recruits - sometimes it works out great (Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game comes to mind) and some don't.  It comes with the territory.  All Crazy is a great read

But dammmm did Sha get locked up today by Thompson today.  Yikes...

I was busy watching Toomey nail what could easily have been 12 3's had the game been closer or he played longer.  Also deferred to his teammates towards the end when the game was out of hand (he had 8 EARLY in the second half) where he could've just jacked up any number of 3's to secure the record.  POY in my book for sure.  No disrespect to NT or the others.

Colby has a good future despite the blowout loss.  I like Patrick Stewart's game a lot to go along with big Hud and some other pretty solid young guys.  Amherst announcers did a good job today. 

wow.  that youtube speaks for itself.  speaking objectively, a little bit suspect...

at the same time it definitely contradicts everything I've ever heard about Hixon as a coach.  I'm sure a good amount of posters on this board who have seen him coach, been coached by him, or have even just met him personally were surprised by that.  myself included...  though I've never heard anyone question his reputation. 

seems like a coach caught up in the moment, and probably also frustrated by a few calls that didn't go his way. 

hoping this doesn't give Amherst any additional motivation this weekend against the young Mules.

in fairness, I think its safe to say Hixon is as stand up a guy as there is coaching in this league.  i disagree with the "box out" yell from a COACH, but its also cool in a way.  definitely adds some fuel to what's already become a great rivalry and will make for an exciting rematch should that happen. 

unless the Mules take care of business first! 

Quote from: nescac1 on February 13, 2013, 02:42:55 PM

As for Colby, frankly, it's an upset based on pre-season prognostication to even make the NESCAC tourney.  They won't beat Amherst this year, but Strahorn clearly has the program on an upwards trajectory and the post-season experience will be valuable.  In two more years, watch out! 

Completely agree Nescac!  Assuming Strahorn can build on what clearly is a very strong first recruiting class (and word is he has at least a couple solid players coming in next year) I see no reason why this team can't be a legitimate force down the road.  Granted 3 wins is 3 wins, but making the NESCAC tourney with 4 freshman as your leading scorers is no small feat and I'm glad to see Strahorn getting some well-deserved credit.  Anyone that has played for Strahorn when he was an assistant under Whit, or during his years at Columbia, has only the utmost respect for the type of person he is and I have no doubt he will continue to recruit well. 

Hoping for some tired Amherst legs come Saturday.  What a game that was... No matter the outcome, will be great experience for the young Mules. 

Thanks Walzy.  Whitmore is a proud man.  Even though they were eliminated from playoffs, I knew he would have the Mules ready to play.  1300 pts and 900 rebounds for Russell.  Quite an accomplishment

Colby a 16 pt dog at Conn.  Wow.  Can I bet the moneyline there?  Colby will win this game

Nescac1 - You make a lot of good points about Colby that are tough to argue with, but  I can tell you that outside Choice, the other players that graduated are all very replaceable with players they have.  Also, I think it is difficult for you to analyze the rest of the league, just because mostly every game you saw last year was a blowout.  Am I wrong?  I don't mean any disrespect by that, but seriously - I would think it'd be difficult to assess the talent levels of the Nescac teams when you're seeing 20+ point blowouts every night?  As a life-long Colby fan - I wish I had this problem.  Anyways, I think you putting Amherst in the same conversation as Middlebury right now is crazy.  Middlebury is loaded and Amherst returns a 3-6 squad.  That Sharry fellow really knows how to ball.  And I also have no idea after seeing Bowdoin play last year what makes them a potential NCAA team.  Making the NCAA is very hard - getting over .500 in league is no guarantee.  If NCAA is what is expected from Bowdoin players and fans, then I envision a very disappointing season for the Polar Bears.

Quote from: JSceltics17 on July 20, 2010, 10:00:29 AM
Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, and Middlebury will all make the NCAA Tournament this coming year and I believe Williams will still have the talent to reach the Elite 8, possibly Final 4.

JS - Very interesting post in that you make one completely outrageous prediction and then one painfully obvious statement in arguing that Williams has the talent to reach the elite 8.  Williams is arguably better this year - and I would assume that in the eyes of their players and coaches, anything less than a National Champtionship would be considered a disappointment.  And maybe I'm the crazy one, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if Whittington earns a national player of the year honor when this season is over. 

As for Colby - obviously I understand that with the loss of Choice, people would
expect a down year.  But they do have a 1st team caliber player returning in Russell, and a very smart pg returning in Van Loenin. They will also start 2 very skilled 6'6 players in Beauleau and Donovan (who was injured all last year), with another 6'6 wing coming off the bench. They also apparently have some very good recruits coming in.  I'm not saying Choice is replaceable whatsoever, but I do think Colby is at the very least still comparable, if not better than Tufts, Wes, Trinity, Bates, Bowdoin, and Conn. They will be very tall and athletic – with an above avg. pg and a top 3 big man.  My prediction – Williams, Middlebury, Amherst, Colby, Bates, Bowdoin, Trinity, Wes, Conn, and Tufts.

Quote from: Old Guy on February 24, 2010, 12:48:05 PM
If there were a NESCAC draft, I would take Wang if I had the first pick. If I had the second pick I would take Locke.

Old Guy, I'm assuming you pick these two because they are both underclassman right?  If you are building your team around one player for one year it has to be Choice, although I recognize that you have not seen him at his best.  I'm hoping you do TOMORROW!  Choice is the only player since the 2002-03 season when the NESCAC started keeping top-10 statistics in all categories to finish the regular season in the top-10 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and blocked shots.  He is the most complete player in the Nescac.  That said, I won't be surprised if Wang or Schultz gets POY because besides being very good, they are maybe the two most efficient players in the league.

Old Guy - Did you know?  That Colby's last two Nescac tourney wins were against Middlebury?  Is #3 on the way?

WHITE MULES!

What a weekend of basketball this is shaping up to be. 

Colby vs. Middlebury – I knew Colby would have their shot at REDEMPTION.  Here it is.  No excuses.  No tired legs, no bus ride fatigue.  As we saw in the first game, this isn't the best matchup for Colby.   The two front-runners for DPOY (Edwards and Locke) matched up against Colby's two most gifted offensive players (Choice and Russell).   BUT I can guarantee this is not the same Colby team that got spanked up in VT a few weeks ago.  This time Sherman and Haylon are back, and I think they will be the keys Saturday.  If they play to their ability, I know Colby can win.  Middlebury is also coming off somewhat of a down performance, although that might not be helpful for Colby since I was hoping Middlebury was going to be overconfident coming into this game.  Too physical, defensive oriented teams.  I'm very excited to see this play out.  Edwards:  Feel free to pick up some quick reach-in fouls, maybe even a couple blocking calls too!  Colby by 3 , 72-69 in an OT thriller.

Old Guy – Any chance the Panthers are overconfident after their convincing win vs. Colby the first time around?

Bates vs. Williams – Shout out to the Bates coach for keeping his team focused and motivated through all the tough losses in the early going.  To go from 0-4 to 5-4 in Nescac is an incredible job, and they clearly are hitting their stride at the right time.  That coach, and that team, have a VERY bright future.  Unfortunately for them, their run is over. Williams by 24, 84-60.

Looking forward to these lines Waltzy.  I'd predict Williams is an 18 pt favorite and Middlebury is going give 7. 

Good morning everyone –

Walzy – Your all-crazy team is legendary.  And being the Colby observer I am, you hit the nail on the head with your #4 pick, Chaz (or Chas?) Woodward.  An old teammate of mine sent me the YouTube link this morning.  I was at this game, but seeing this again has me in constant disbelief.  Also, your all-crazy team is referenced in the video's description.  You have quite the following. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78-mxa4wYrk     

Thank God this didn't cost Colby the game.  Wins against Amherst are hard enough to come by.  Stay cool this Saturday CHAZ!

MuleT – Good to see your swagger is back!  I sensed some doubt going into Williams last weekend and I'm not sure if it rubbed off on the players or not.  But I can tell you see big things for this Mules this upcoming weekend.  SO DO I.  Is Wadsworth ready to rock?

As for the Russell debate, he is a 2nd teamer no doubt, barring any crazy quadruple double / buzzer beater performances this weekend.  But he is only a JR and he will have his chance to contend for 1st team / POY next year when he must carry this team.  After this past weekend, I personally would not want to face the fury of Mike Russell tonight/tomorrow.  He seems especially angry after "the collission in Williamstown", and I've heard that he is finally back to 100%.

As for Amherst, I can GUARENTEE none of the top 4 teams want to draw them in the 1st round, even Bates who just smoked them.  Now that I've said this, you can just pencil in #6 AMH @ #3 Colby on Feb. 20. 

Walzy – I too am hoping for an underwhelming Wang this weekend.  Although, it is Valentine's day weekend.  Love your spreads.  Colby is 3-4 ATS this year.  WIN BIG THIS WEEKEND MULES!

Agent-Zero – That article is very interesting, a must-read I'd even say.  Shout out to Jon for a great career. 

Now that I've had some time to decompress after last weekend, I'm finally reenergized, refocused and ready to post again.  Thanks to all those who encouraged me to stay on.

Machine24 – I can't say I blame you for questioning Colby's legitimacy as a 3 seed after what you saw.  All I can say is I've seen them a dozen times this year and the things they do well, particularly defending on the perimeter, were all sorely lacking for one weekend.  (A lot of that obviously has to do with playing 2 great teams on the road)  Either way, I'm not going to defend them and give all the reasons I think they are a legit NESCAC *contender*.  They will have their chance at REDEMPTION, and I have a feeling this past weekend was the WAKEUP call they all needed. 

Old Guy – I couldn't agree more with your All Star Team (Edwards, Wang, Choice, Shultz, Whittington).  Edwards SWARMS out there.  Wang is FAST.  As for Whittington, I can't remember a human highlight real like this before in the NESCACS.  These are not dunks in transition, these are POSTERS.  Whittington, I hope you are overconfident now and play recklessly come NESCACS.  Why don't you start lowering your shoulder some!  Also, feel free to shuffle your pivot feet a bit more! OFFENSIVE FOULS and TRAVELS.

Choice is my POY but if Shultz gets it I understand.  Choice has helped bring a level of excitement back to Colby basketball that Whitmore's teams used to have every year.  I hope they can build off this for years to come.  Not only that, my sources tell me Choice is a great human being, I know he is a great leader and has great sportsmanship, but he is also active with a ton of local Waterville stuff, etc. etc.  Yes, maybe some will roll their eyes but in my mind if you are going to be NESCAC POY you better be a good person too, and Choice is. 

NOW BRING US A NESCAC CHAMPIONSHIP CHOICE!

It pains me to say this but this has to be my final post on D3Hoops.  It has been a fun week going back and forth with many of you.  I will continue to read daily, although I think it is best for me to go in another direction after these two losses. 

A parting message to any Colby player reading this:  Don't get discouraged by one bad weekend.  At the end of the day, you are in great position to go 7-2 in league (with home games to Conn and Wes remaining) and to take the 3 seed.  You know you can play MUCH MUCH better than what we saw!  Forget about this, it did not happen.  Once you win the first NESCAC game you will have your chance at redemption.  Play PHYSICAL and play ANGRY, but mostly play SMART! 

Go Mules!

Nescac1,

I agree it could have been much worse for Colby.  But Colby also missed a ton of open shots that normally drop.  No excuses though, Colby got worked.  I'd rather they lay a stinker like that to a top dog like Williams than play their worst game against a Conn or a Tufts.  Like I said, this is not the 16-2 team that I've seen throughout this season.  Now is the true test for this Colby team.  It is a tough pill to swallow having to sit through a 6 hour bus ride after THAT game.  A win today would be impressive in so many ways.

Can't believe I spent money on this.  I haven't seen the mules play this bad since 2003.  

A few observations ...

Williams is really really good.  Inside, Whittington is a ferocious beast with skill and athleticism.  Here I thought he gets his points off offensive rebounds and easy putbacks.  The man has skills.  Geogehan also has skills.  On the outside, it is not fair.  These ephs pull from everywhere, they hit em when they are open and they hit em when they are being defended.  Wang is very good.  

On the Colby side things, this was an awful representation of what they are.  Their D was awful, and their O was awful.  Not much to say.  Choice brought it, others need to forget about this one.  Colby will bounce back and play like men possessed tomorrow.