Taysean Scott, one of Williams' senior captains, suffered a significant brain injury last weekend and is in a medically-induced coma.

A GoFundMe page has been set up for anyone who wants to contribute:

https://www.gofundme.com/taysean-scott-support-page

Quote from: JEFFFAN on March 03, 2016, 03:25:30 PM

Quote from: Panthernation on March 03, 2016, 11:19:14 AM

Quote from: nescac1 on March 02, 2016, 05:07:09 PM
2013-14: Toomey, easy pick

Not sure we're being faithful to history calling 2013 an "easy pick" when you picked someone else.

Quote from: nescac1 on February 24, 2013, 01:45:30 PM
Now that the season is officially over, after mulling it over, my all-conference picks:
POY: Workman (runners-up Mayer, Toomey, Kizell)

Have to back up NESCAC1 here ... if his post was February 2013, that meant that he was posting for the 2012-2013 season and not the 2013-2014 season!   Am I correct here?

Right, you're correct that the Workman pick was for the 2012-13 season, but "2013-14: Toomey, easy pick" refers to the 2012-13 and the 2013-14 races.

Clear from context:

Quote from: nescac1 on March 02, 2016, 05:07:09 PM
2015: Hausman, easy pick
2013-14: Toomey, easy pick
2012: Sharry, easy pick

Quote from: nescac1 on March 02, 2016, 05:07:09 PM
2013-14: Toomey, easy pick

Not sure we're being faithful to history calling 2013 an "easy pick" when you picked someone else.

Quote from: nescac1 on February 24, 2013, 01:45:30 PM
Now that the season is officially over, after mulling it over, my all-conference picks:
POY: Workman (runners-up Mayer, Toomey, Kizell)

Quote from: Old Guy on February 11, 2016, 09:41:41 PM
Ryan Sharry scored 20 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in 20 minutes in the D3 All-Star game his senior year in Salem, 2012, earning MVP honors.

His biggest basket was a reverse dunk on the hoop on the garage in our driveway the fall of his freshman year (2009) in his street shoes: Young Guy was 13 and gained a favorite player for life.

Not sure Midd has ever had a better player.

For 1,000 words on the best-player-of-this-era question, including year-by-year statistical comparisons: http://sites.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2014/11/12/our-farewell-post/.

The gist from that post:

Kizel had three seasons above 14 points per game, was exceptionally efficient, and dished out the second most assists in school history. Sharry had the best single season (his senior year [18.8 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 1.0 spg, 61/43/67 shooting, 30 mpg]) and an amazing all-around game, combining efficiency with offensive, defensive, and rebounding production. Thompson took out opponents' top perimeter threats night-in and night-out, played 28+ minutes per game every season, and was a consistent presence on offense with composure, ball-handling ability, and outside shooting. Locke scored down low consistently, blocked a shot every 5.8 minutes of his career, and altered about every third shot the opponent took.

Jeff: It seems like Sharry tops the list. He was simultaneously the best low-post player and one of the best shooters in the conference. He was a major presence in the paint and on the boards. His game was better developed than any player I've seen in Division III. With Ryan Sharry on the floor, the offense had so many options, and so much more space within which to operate. He was the best player of the Middlebury golden years.

Damon: To me, it comes down (dangerously) to something that can't be particularly well quantified: which player helped Middlebury win the most games? Because I think it's next to impossible to differentiate the four players based on their stats or career arcs, I can only say that from watching all four extensively I've concluded that Joey Kizel had the best career. I would have a really hard time making a strong argument against any of these players, but from all the time I spent watching this team, I think the answer is Joey.

Quote from: grabtherim on February 11, 2016, 02:44:56 PM
Nice to hear from Panther Nation but I think you are falling into a stat trap versus the old simple Al McGuire eye test.  82.3% free throw really, pleasant stat?  13.8 ppg OK that's nice.  Both those said with all due respect to Matt, if you watch Sharry play 5 of his best games or even 5 of his mediocre games versus the 5 best Matt has played, any astute baskeball man or woman would pick Sharry.  I would go out on a limb and say with the intangibles and lock down defense he brought the same could probably be said for Thompson. As good as both of them were, they were selfless as were the rest of the players on those squads, a big reason those teams won as much as they did.       

Quote from: Panthernation on February 10, 2016, 04:01:26 PM

Quote from: Old Guy on February 10, 2016, 02:21:09 PM
I guess Jeff Brown can take credit for recruiting his outstanding backcourt, Jake Brown (his nephew) and Vermonter Matt St. Amour. They play so hard, put such pressure on the defense. Jake takes the ball into the teeth of the defense, always challenging without turning it over (3-1 TO%). Matt moves so well and aggressively with and without the ball, always now with a defender in his shirt. I think it's safe to consider them in the company of the great backcourt players at Middlebury in the last ten years - Rudin, Harris, Dudley, Edwards, Wolfin, Thompson, Kizel.

Matt St. Amour might be as good as any Middlebury player of this era. Matt has only played in 64 games in his career, thanks to a torn ACL and a lack of postseason play (Joey Kizel had played in 88 games by the end of his junior year, for comparison). But his career scoring average (13.8 points per game) is already higher than that of Kizel, Ryan Sharry, or any other recent Middlebury player. His separation from those players should only increase next year. St. Amour's career free throw percentage (82.3%) is currently the best in Middlebury history, and his 69 made threes this year is already third all-time for a single season. In addition to his 19.3 points per game this season, St. Amour leads the conference in steals, with 2 per game.

This year's NESCAC tournament will be Matt's first postseason game as a Panther. That's probably not what he expected when he chose Middlebury over UVM, but it is of no fault of his own. He has lived up to, and surpassed, the hype.

As others have noted, St. Amour has a better all-around game than Lucas Hausman -- in addition to leading the league in steals, he excels off the ball and is a brilliant passer -- but that should not make up for Hausman's lead in scoring and efficiency when it comes time for player of the year voting. Hausman's 25.0 points per game is incredible. The top scoring average in the NESCAC archives (back to '02-'03) is 22.8 points per game, to put Hausman's accomplishment in perspective. He is scoring almost one-third of his team's points, despite only playing 30.1 minutes per game. That Hausman is sustaining a 47/41/87 shooting line despite a bleak complementary offense makes it more impressive.

You're right. Sharry was unquestionably better than St. Amour is now. Meant "might be as good as any Middlebury player of this era" in that he's already in the conversation before the end of his junior year, as those (admittedly selective) stats indicate. But that wasn't conveyed clearly. Right now, he's behind at least Sharry, Kizel, and Thompson -- maybe Locke, too -- but he has another year-plus to make his case. Sorry for the poor wording. And agree with NbN that Aronowitz is having a better season.

(For the record, St. Amour does pretty well in the Al McGuire eye test: he is a selfless player, and there is a lot more to his game than scoring.)

Quote from: Old Guy on February 10, 2016, 02:21:09 PM
I guess Jeff Brown can take credit for recruiting his outstanding backcourt, Jake Brown (his nephew) and Vermonter Matt St. Amour. They play so hard, put such pressure on the defense. Jake takes the ball into the teeth of the defense, always challenging without turning it over (3-1 TO%). Matt moves so well and aggressively with and without the ball, always now with a defender in his shirt. I think it's safe to consider them in the company of the great backcourt players at Middlebury in the last ten years - Rudin, Harris, Dudley, Edwards, Wolfin, Thompson, Kizel.

Matt St. Amour might be as good as any Middlebury player of this era. Matt has only played in 64 games in his career, thanks to a torn ACL and a lack of postseason play (Joey Kizel had played in 88 games by the end of his junior year, for comparison). But his career scoring average (13.8 points per game) is already higher than that of Kizel, Ryan Sharry, or any other recent Middlebury player. His separation from those players should only increase next year. St. Amour's career free throw percentage (82.3%) is currently the best in Middlebury history, and his 69 made threes this year is already third all-time for a single season. In addition to his 19.3 points per game this season, St. Amour leads the conference in steals, with 2 per game.

This year's NESCAC tournament will be Matt's first postseason game as a Panther. That's probably not what he expected when he chose Middlebury over UVM, but it is of no fault of his own. He has lived up to, and surpassed, the hype.

As others have noted, St. Amour has a better all-around game than Lucas Hausman -- in addition to leading the league in steals, he excels off the ball and is a brilliant passer -- but that should not make up for Hausman's lead in scoring and efficiency when it comes time for player of the year voting. Hausman's 25.0 points per game is incredible. The top scoring average in the NESCAC archives (back to '02-'03) is 22.8 points per game, to put Hausman's accomplishment in perspective. He is scoring almost one-third of his team's points, despite only playing 30.1 minutes per game. That Hausman is sustaining a 47/41/87 shooting line despite a bleak complementary offense makes it more impressive.

Quote from: nescac1 on January 26, 2015, 12:12:15 PM
My second team so far is a much dicier group, and would include Safford, Westman (he's shooting 89 percent in conference games, 76 percent overall -- has ANY starting guard who scores at least 10 ppg ever shot over 75 percent from the field in D3 history???)

For what it's worth: DR shot 75% on two-point field goals last season in conference.

Quote from: MENESCACFAN on January 23, 2015, 12:36:42 PM
Fully agree with Madzilla on the game.  What is to stop every coach trying to move games due to players being sick?  It could be the whole team, it could be 2-3 starters.  We would never know the truth and it would be a horrendous precedent to set.

This argument in particular seems like a silly one to get so much endorsement. It was a one day difference based on a pretty exceptional situation.

Note the substantial difference between OG saying it's unfortunate Bates didn't accept the request (which he did say), and saying that it's not justifiably within their discretion (which he didn't say). Not all slopes are slippery.

Quote from: Bucket on January 16, 2015, 10:05:55 PM

Quote from: Panthernation on January 16, 2015, 09:58:28 PM

Quote from: Vandy74 on January 16, 2015, 09:17:49 PM
Basketball talent of note seen viewing the game from the bleachers included Ben Rudin, Joey Kizel, Jake Wolfin

Numbers 3, 2, and 1 in career assists in Middlebury history, respectively. Watching a career night from the guy who might pass them all.

I notice you edited out Little Bucket....

Future assist leader?

Oversight. LB rounds out the top 5.

Quote from: Vandy74 on January 16, 2015, 09:17:49 PM
Basketball talent of note seen viewing the game from the bleachers included Ben Rudin, Joey Kizel, Jake Wolfin

Numbers 3, 2, and 1 in career assists in Middlebury history, respectively. Watching a career night from the guy who might pass them all.

Quote from: nescac1 on January 12, 2015, 06:59:56 AM
Colby's Luke Westman, who has always been a crazy-efficient shooter for a guard, has taken it up a level this year: he is shooting 73 percent on the year!  I'm not sure I've ever seen a NESCAC guard who scores over 10 ppg shoot over 60 percent from the field, let alone 70!  He's also attempting more shots this season, and averaging over 14 ppg.  He doesn't shoot threes (and I imagine he doesn't shoot many jumpers, period?) which I'm sure helps his average, but wow, that is an amazing stat for a point guard.  His stat line across the board -- 14 ppg, 4 rpg, 4 apg, 1.5 spg, .5 bpg, is really impressive.  Colby rebounded from a very poor stretch of play, four losses in six games including two really bad losses, to post a very impressive weak: beating top-25 Husson and then sweeping the Wesleyan/Conn road weekend.  Like almost every team in NESCAC, they are really hard to figure out, but certainly, they have two of the better players in the league, plus one x-factor guy in Willson.  When Willson is playing well, they are tough to beat. 

Duncan Robinson shot 75% on 2-point field goals in NESCAC play last year, same as Westman. Westman just takes far fewer threes. Which is to say that both were pretty crazy-efficient, and, as you acknowledge, that the context of three-point attempts is important: Robinson was better, in part, because he shot more threes, which lowered his field goal %. 

Quote from: PolarCat on December 09, 2014, 08:56:33 PM
Though not technically about football, here's a news item that does impact a bunch of football players at one NESCAC school.

Tim Foster, Bowdoin's Dean of Student Affairs, has just sent a strongly-worded rebuke to the Bowdoin community for a most heinous, politically-incorrect crime against humanity.  The crime?

This year (as in years past) the off campus house that includes many of the Polar Bear Men's Lacrosse team as members, hosted a Thanksgiving celebration party.  A theme party.  A costume party, at which guest were invited to celebrate the original Thanksgiving by dressing up as either Pilgrims or Native Americans.  A gathering re-enacted with great approval at Plimoth Plantation (yep, that's how they spell it), the beloved site which re-enacts the original Plimoth settlement to the delight of small children, PBS and educators everywhere.

My child at Bowdoin reports there were no ugly caricatures at the party; certainly nothing so offensive as Chief Wahoo, or the logo of the-football-team-from-Washington-which-must-not-be-named.  Just a good humored party to celebrate the season (as opposed to the unimaginative keggers that are de riguer).

Apparently the painfully PC Bowdoin Administration took great offense to this "hate crime".  So much so that they have promised "disciplinary action against those who recently dressed in Native American attire, since this is 'conduct unbecoming of a Bowdoin student'".

Strangely enough, there is no similar punishment for those who dressed in Pilgrim attire.  I am not sure if that is because the Pilgrims have a better sense of humor, or that they just haven't attracted the sort of leadership hell-bent on protecting their image and their rights.

There is talk of cancelling the Bowdoin Men's Lacrosse season.  (And in the wonderful NESCAC tradition of multi-sport athletes, many members of the football team are also members of the lacrosse team).

(Facepalm)

This would be standard fare at Middlebury. As others have suggested, it is the prevalent attitude throughout higher education. The majority of faculty, students (including athletes) and administrators are looking for reasons to be offended on behalf of select demographics.

The underlying tension between this attitude and sport — an expressly meritocratic enterprise — has not yet made its mark.

Quote from: nescac1 on December 05, 2014, 05:01:04 PM
Since he only played one year, I would not say that Duncan Robinson is the best NESCAC player ever.  But he certainly had the best freshman year of any NESCAC player ever, and I feel confident in saying that he is the most talented player to ever play for a NESCAC team in the NCAA era (which started in 1994, so several really strong players, like Rehnquist, Harry Sheehy, and Matt Hancock, all of whom belong in a best-ever discussion, are excluded, but they are much harder to  judge since they didn't play in NCAA tourneys and since most of us never saw them play).  Put it this way: what other NESCAC player could have earned a full basketball scholarship to Michigan after their freshman year?  The only other guy who MIGHT have had a shot, in my mind, is Nogelo, but even he didn't really explode as a player until he was a sophomore. 

In further support of Robinson: consider that if he were simply born a year later, he could have easily been deserving of the NESCAC POY as a freshman. (He probably wouldn't have won, for the same unwritten rule that kept him off the First Team.) Here's what we wrote about Robinson when considering his candidacy for POY last spring:

"Robinson scored 18.9 points per game, shooting 75% on 2-point field goals and 53% on 3-point fields goals, making him the best pure scorer in the conference. Robinson led the conference in both 2-point and 3-point percentage. As in, the best three-point shooter in the conference had a higher field goal percentage inside of the arc than John Swords and Hunter Sabety — and it wasn't even close. The 6'7″ versatile wingman is also a plus defender, and finished conference play with 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. He added 2.1 assists and 5.2 rebounds per contest. If you can have a flawless season as the top scorer on a top team nationally, it would look a lot like Duncan Robinson's 2013-14. But Robinson missed one game out of ten in conference play, and Toomey's points plus assists might surpass his efficiency deficiency, so we think the award should go to the Amherst senior."

It's hard to imagine any NESCAC player in 2015 putting together a better season than Robinson's freshman year. But Robinson was a freshman when Aaron Toomey was a senior, and had Toomey's 21.6/6.6/5.2 line to compete with. Abstracted from his competition, Robinson's 2014 is POY-level performance; the shooting numbers look fictional. It seems fair to say he was an all-time great talent.

Quote from: Hoops Fan on December 04, 2014, 02:48:48 PM
You couple that with a very strong year in the Mid-Atlantic, plus all the conference realignment will likely even out the bids a little more, you've got a case where a down year in the NESCAC (which we can all agree this is, right?) might possibly mean one bid.

There is more parity, and a lot more uncertainty, than in the past couple of years. However, it's not yet clear if this is a down year compared to a typical year in the NESCAC.

Though the senior class and the Robinson/Hart/Stewart trio constitute major losses, there is reason to believe that beneath the superstar level, the talent drop-off isn't steep: the returns of Palleschi and (healthy) Hurley; the apparent ascension of Rooke-Ley, Sinnickson, Santos, and Kuo; the transfers of Dawson and Conklin; and the steady growth of the still-elite sophomore class.

Last year, in what was pretty clearly an "up" year, NESCAC teams were 56-21 (72%) out of conference through four weeks. This year, NESCAC teams are 50-15 (77%) out of conference. It is fair to say that there are fewer great teams (0 this year, 2 last year), but more very good teams. Often, being very good is enough to get an NCAA bid.

The NCAA record (for both single-season and across multiple seasons) is 94 consecutive free throws made. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2015/DivII.pdf