A decade or two before the creation of the NESCAC, the ECAC was often the only post-season tournament that some teams (like Amherst) could participate in.  Back in the 79-80 season, the ECAC combined both DII and DIII teams in its 4 team Northeast tournament and if memory serves, Amherst lost a not-so-close game to a DII Assumption team.   

Jim Rehnquist was indeed a phenomenal player who was so strong and athletic he seemed far taller than his 6'3" or 6'4" frame.  He still holds the Amherst record for most points scored in a game (50 against MIT) during his junior year - a year in which he averaged a school record  27.8 points/game.  Impressive numbers when considering they were accomplished in an era without a shot clock or a 3 point line and every team was keyed on him.  Unfortunately, he played hurt most of his senior year and his numbers were not as productive as his 75/76 season.  I saw him play a number of times, but missed playing with him by a few years.  To bring it full circle, the Quist was indeed a DU member and legend has it that he was the first to hang-glide off of Amherst's Memorial Hill (not sure about the hang-gilding, but maybe someone in the know can confirm).   

As Louis Armstrong once said when asked why he played jazz - if you have to ask, you'll never know.

A nice article about perhaps the best athlete in the McCarthy family....

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/columnist/erik-brady/2017/04/12/nba-playoffs-russell-westbrook-triple-doubles-okc-thunder-johnny-mccarthy/100334566/

An incredibly thoughtful piece on Curt Tong and a reminder why coaches like him are remembered so fondly by so many.  I received a nice one page, hand signed letter from Coach Tong in the spring of 1980 congratulating me on a successful high school basketball season and career.  The letter concluded by asking if I might be interested in applying for admission to Williams College for the upcoming year.  The only problem was that I had just finished my first year playing for Amherst and we had beaten Williams twice that year.  Needless to say, Coach Tong and I shared a few laughs over that letter each time we played each other over the next few years.  What a gentleman, and yes, 37 years later - I still have that letter.       

NothingButNESCAC - the confusion might be attributable to the fact that '77-'78 was Hixon's first year as head coach at Amherst (not his graduation year) - a minor point at best and nothing that would detract from an otherwise excellent piece of writing.     

A quick check of Matt Laczkowski's stats while at North Carolina show 6 games played with 1 start.  I believe the lone start was against Georgia Tech which presumably was the last home game when the Tarheels historically start and honor all of the seniors.  Matt averaged less than 1 mintue per game played with 0 points (0/1 FG and 0/2 FT) and 1 reobound.  With the exception of the lone game in which he started, all of Matt's 5 total minutes were at the end of extremely lopsided games.  There are lots of great reasons to transfer and attempt to walk on to a Division 1 basketball program.  Playing time is usually not one of them.  Having said all that, best of luck to Matt Hart at George Washington.  It was a pleasure watching such a talented D3 hoops player - even if just for a year or two.   

The Colby to Amhest transfer in the mid to late 90's was Alex Bernstein - a hefty defensive lineman who bounced around in the NFL for 3 or 4 years before heading off to Harvard B school.

In addition to the 3 point line, the mid-80's institution of the shot clock also impacted the number of points scored in NESCAC games.  With no shot clock, I remember games in which the winning score was often in the high 40's or low 50's as teams stalled (the old NC four corners), and worked offensive sets for minutes at a time. 

The Amherst/Nova Southeastern was an exciting game to watch on the Nova website - what with multiple lead changes, incedible long range shooting, a few dunks sprinkled in, and lots of turnovers by both teams.  Up two points with 30 seconds to play in regulation, and with Amherst coming out of a timeout, I would have bet the ball would find its way into the hands of the reigning DIII player of the year and a lifetime 90% free throw shooter.  Still, always a great experience to play up a Division, even if only for one game.               

From a coaching perspective, it would be hard (and foolish) not to put your best players on the floor, even if they happen to be freshmen.  However, it sometimes takes an injury or illness to an incumbent (the so-called "opportunity") in order to discover just how talented a freshman might be.  By way of example, Andrew Olsen of Amherst played very little as a freshman until an unfortunate injury to the starting point guard "threw" Andrew into the lineup.  Not surprisingly, Andrew  turned out OK - even for a freshman.   

The elder John McCarthy also played more than a little football for Amherst and Coach Ostendarp.  However, the true athlete of the family remains Mom.   

Although currently a D3 hoops school, I'm not sure if Illinois Wesletyan was D3 when Jack Sikma was drafted 8th overall in 1977 by the Seattle Supersonics.  It wasn't D1, but it may have been NAIA...

Also, Coach Popovich is closely connected to Williams (he was hired at Pomona by a long-time Williams hoops coach who became the Pomona AD).  He gave a speech to a Williams soccer team a few years back.  He spends a lot of time in the Berkshires ...


The reference to former Williams coach and Pomona AD, Dr. Curt Tong, brought a quick smile.  Curt Tong was a very good coach and a true gentleman.  While still at Williams, he wrote a very nice note (which I still have) congratulating me on a successful senior season of high school basketball and suggesting that I consider Williams as a possible college basetball destination.  The only problem was that I was in the process of completing my freshman year at Amherst and we had beaten the Tong-coached Williams team twice that season....     

Not sure you will find a more accomplished NESCAC three sport athlete than 6'7" Bill Swiacki Jr (Amherst '78). 

Football (drafted by the NY Giants as a TE in the 9th round)
Basketball (NABC All District Dvision 2/3)
Baseball (drafted by the LA Dodgers in the 8th round)

His father (Bill Sr) also caught a few football passes of note - both in college (Columbia University) and in the pros.