Happy Halloween, and with that, we welcome in the start of NESCAC hoops for another year. D3 Hoops Poll has Amherst at #1, Babson at #3, and Tufts at #5, but the distribution of votes was pretty wide. Midd in at #24 as well. Should be a fun year!

http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/men/2016-17/preseason

Hey all-

New to the board, but been a reader/follower of the discussion and banter for a long time now, and finally decided to chime in. I played at Amherst some years ago, as I'm sure some of my posts will shed some bias here and there Some thoughts on the (former) Jeffs:

Hixon's squad is going to be good- we know that- the question is how good. Most of you give heavy praise to Jayde Dawson and Johnny McCarthy, and rightfully so. These are two guys that are Division 1 athletes and talents (and David George as well). Here's a name that gets overlooked, and surely shouldn't: Michael Riopel. Last year, I thought the purple and white were most dangerous when he was on the floor. He spent the summer in Amherst, working out with who else, the legendary Willy Workman, inheriting not only some of Willy's crafty moves and tricks, but more importantly, his work ethic. Rio is one of those guys who wants to win more than he wants to breathe. Watch for his role to grow quickly, as I'm sure he will be stepping up and contributing in a huge, huge way. The kid is 6'6", the best leaper on the team (I'm convinced DG can't actually jump but his arms just stretch to the rim like MJ in Spacejam), and has a knockdown jumper that has only gotten more lethal. Racy will hit his shots, Conklin will come off the bench and be a beast per usual, and Berman will likely again be the guy who keeps the offense even-keeled. Green's firepower will surely be missed, but his inconsistency will not. You live with Green and you die with him, and over the past 4 years, the (former) Jeffs have done plenty of both. Arguably the most talented player to come through the program, he drew SO much attention from opposing teams- which will present more of a challenge for these now-experienced wings over in Western Mass. Maybe I'm biased, as I conceded earlier, however I think Amherst is a strong favorite to take home the NESCAC crown. The coaching staff is hoping the Jake Nabatoff- the shooting, dunking, athletic 6'8" face-up 4- will finally have the year he has been waiting for. Some other contributions from underclassmen (Joe Schneider, Josh Cherry, Eric Sellew, Tommy Mobley) could also prove beneficial. And, as always, Aaron Toomey is on the coaching staff.

Who will step up as a leader this year? That's the main question echoing in my head and the variable by which Amherst's success will be decided. The relationship between Amherst's success and their leadership is beyond correlational, almost causal. They always have talent. They always have coaching. How do these pieces come to fruition in one unit? Look at the two national championship teams. Led by large groups of upperclassmen, with NPOY point guards to run the whole show. Take a look at the past 4 years:

-2013: National Championship-----Strong senior leaders (Workman, Kaasila, Williamson)
-2014: National Semis------Strong senior leaders (Toomey, Killian, Kalema)
-2015: Round of 32-----One senior on roster, did not see time (Pollack was sole captain, out for year with injury, AKA no on-floor leadership)
-2016: National Semis------Strong senior leaders (Green, Pollack)

Like I said, the talent is always there, it's a matter of who is driving the bus. Will Racy finally be the leader and player this program has been yearning for for a few years? Will David George become the vocal leader that this team needs? Who else from the senior class will step up and guide this group of young men? Will McCarthy and Riopel just be fantastic players, or great players AND  leaders? With the right mindset and the right leadership, this team is destined for greatness. Without that, they will continue to be an enigma.