Check out these two plays by Pouye last night.  A guy who can do both of these things is going to be a force to be reckoned with as an upperclassman.  Not many guys with that size play with that combination of force and touch, and he's also disruptive on the defensive end:

https://x.com/BatesSports/status/1888400184578900176
https://x.com/PoppersMacsLive/status/1888374089787605478

He's dramatically improved across every metric since his first year. If he keeps growing his game, which still lacks polish in certain areas (ball-handling and post moves), and becomes more consistent, he could be a future all-American.  In fact, among underclassmen in NESCAC, I'd say he and Cuevas are the best bets to one day be all-Americans.  There are some other young players with that potential (Yates, Civiello, I'm sure a few others), but after Cuevas, Pouye seems like as good a bet as any. 

I'm high on Bates' upside overall.  They've had some extremely close losses including two in OT in league play, but they have a nice collection of athletes and dead-eye shooters who just need to grow together.  I could easily seeing them being a top-half of NESCAC team next season  Their top eight rotation guys are all back next year, including two FYs and three sophs.  Of course, I thought this once before about Bates with a potential big three of Baxter/Sarr/Iwowo and they used their last year of eligibility elsewhere / left the program / suffered major injuries, respectively.  So, you never know how things will go ...

Quote from: nescac1 on February 09, 2025, 12:08:47 PMCheck out these two plays by Pouye last night.  A guy who can do both of these things is going to be a force to be reckoned with as an upperclassman.  Not many guys with that size play with that combination of force and touch, and he's also disruptive on the defensive end:

https://x.com/BatesSports/status/1888400184578900176
https://x.com/PoppersMacsLive/status/1888374089787605478

He's dramatically improved across every metric since his first year. If he keeps growing his game, which still lacks polish in certain areas (ball-handling and post moves), and becomes more consistent, he could be a future all-American.  In fact, among underclassmen in NESCAC, I'd say he and Cuevas are the best bets to one day be all-Americans.  There are some other young players with that potential (Yates, Civiello, I'm sure a few others), but after Cuevas, Pouye seems like as good a bet as any. 

I'm high on Bates' upside overall.  They've had some extremely close losses including two in OT in league play, but they have a nice collection of athletes and dead-eye shooters who just need to grow together.  I could easily seeing them being a top-half of NESCAC team next season  Their top eight rotation guys are all back next year, including two FYs and three sophs.  Of course, I thought this once before about Bates with a potential big three of Baxter/Sarr/Iwowo and they used their last year of eligibility elsewhere / left the program / suffered major injuries, respectively.  So, you never know how things will go ...

Agree he just now needs to be more consistent and bring it every game. Easily could be all NESCAC!

I think the most likely underclassman all-american in the NESCAC is probably Dylan Reilly. Elite shutdown defender and one of the best catch and shoot guys in league history

Quote from: rdanie03 on February 09, 2025, 02:56:14 PMI think the most likely underclassman all-american in the NESCAC is probably Dylan Reilly. Elite shutdown defender and one of the best catch and shoot guys in league history

Love Reilly, he's very good. I think even could end up being an "All" something player. But to say one of best catch and shoot shooters in league history is maybe a tad premature. As someone around the league for a while, not sure he's to that level quite yet. Maybe one day, and I hope he does. Do love watching him play defense, with him, Watt and Medley, the perimeter defense for Tufts can be elite.

Quote from: rdanie03 on February 09, 2025, 02:56:14 PMI think the most likely underclassman all-american in the NESCAC is probably Dylan Reilly. Elite shutdown defender and one of the best catch and shoot guys in league history

lol

Some pretty great shooters just from one of 11 NESCAC teams:

Duncan Robinson
Tim Folan
Mike Nogelo
Matt Hunt
Blake Schultz
James Wang
James Heskett
Bobby Casey
James Klemm
Hayden Rooke-Ley
Nate Karren
Tucker Kain

Reilly has a ways to go to be mentioned with any of these guys and several are already, realistically, out of reach. 

Mumbo put up an absolutely lacklaster prediction performance last weekend, going 7-3 and dropping to 28-7 overall. Looks like Colby put up a bit of a stinker. Bowdoin over Midd makes a little sense - if they were gonna beat anyone Midd is one of those teams.

Tufts senior night Sunday at 1pm against Bates. This will be a tricky weekend to predict as seniors will be starting and anything can happen in those opening 5 mins. Bates thinks they're Duke now after that OT loss to Wesleyan, so I'm expecting a battle for at least 10 mins, maybe 35 - but Tufts will win this by double digits.

Jumbomumbo "Home Stretch" Predictions (28-7 overall, .800)

Friday:

Wesleyan 82 - Bowdoin 65 (yep)
Williams 59 - Hamilton 67 (Hamilton is better)
Trintiy 76 - Colby 49 (Trinity clobbers Colby on defense)
Middlebury 67 - Amherst 60 (Brennan wins the big man battle)
Bates 71 - Conn 73 (close but no cigar)

Saturday:

Trinity 85 - Bowdoin 49 (Trinity clobbers Bowdoin on defense)
Middlebury 67 - Hamilton 79 (Morgan makes one final push at POTY but Regan wins)
Wesleyan 74 - Colby 73 (Colby might win but I will protect my precious 80% record and play conservative)
Williams 42 - Amherst 39 (Absolute slug fest, no one can hit broadside of a barn from outside)

Sunday:
Bates 59 - Tufts 79 (Tufts seniors combine for 20+, Bob Stewart drills a 3)

JUMBOMUMBO LOCK OF THE DAY:
Eagles 34 - Chiefs 26 (Betting the Eagles is like voting against Putin because the refs are going to be against you but Saquon breaks free for 2 60 yard runs and that is the difference. Taylor Swift in disbelief.)

Final Regular Season Weekend
Friday
Wesleyan 77 @ Bowdoin 60
Williams 58 @ Hamilton 74
Trinity 76 @ Colby 67
Midd 67 @ Amherst 64
Bates 63 @ Conn 66

Saturday
Trinity 82 @ Bowdoin 63
Midd 66 @ Hamilton 84
Wesleyan 88 @ Colby 73
Williams 64 @ Amherst 59

Sunday
Bates 70 @ Tufts 81

Williams sits at Pool C 24. Obviously a massive weekend for them on the road. They'll need to upset Hamilton and survive the rivalry at Amherst. If they sweep, they'll be in good position for a Pool C spot, probably have to win at least one NESCAC tournament game.

Quote from: jumbomumbo on February 09, 2025, 04:32:18 PMMumbo put up an absolutely lacklaster prediction performance last weekend, going 7-3 and dropping to 28-7 overall. Looks like Colby put up a bit of a stinker. Bowdoin over Midd makes a little sense - if they were gonna beat anyone Midd is one of those teams.

Tufts senior night Sunday at 1pm against Bates. This will be a tricky weekend to predict as seniors will be starting and anything can happen in those opening 5 mins. Bates thinks they're Duke now after that OT loss to Wesleyan, so I'm expecting a battle for at least 10 mins, maybe 35 - but Tufts will win this by double digits.

Jumbomumbo "Home Stretch" Predictions (28-7 overall, .800)

Friday:

Wesleyan 82 - Bowdoin 65 (yep)
Williams 59 - Hamilton 67 (Hamilton is better)
Trintiy 76 - Colby 49 (Trinity clobbers Colby on defense)
Middlebury 67 - Amherst 60 (Brennan wins the big man battle)
Bates 71 - Conn 73 (close but no cigar)

Saturday:

Trinity 85 - Bowdoin 49 (Trinity clobbers Bowdoin on defense)
Middlebury 67 - Hamilton 79 (Morgan makes one final push at POTY but Regan wins)
Wesleyan 74 - Colby 73 (Colby might win but I will protect my precious 80% record and play conservative)
Williams 42 - Amherst 39 (Absolute slug fest, no one can hit broadside of a barn from outside)

Sunday:
Bates 59 - Tufts 79 (Tufts seniors combine for 20+, Bob Stewart drills a 3)

JUMBOMUMBO LOCK OF THE DAY:
Eagles 34 - Chiefs 26 (Betting the Eagles is like voting against Putin because the refs are going to be against you but Saquon breaks free for 2 60 yard runs and that is the difference. Taylor Swift in disbelief.)

There seems to be a good number of posters in here. You should open up and run a pick em league next season. I'll volunteer to finish last.

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on February 09, 2025, 07:07:07 PM

Quote from: jumbomumbo on February 09, 2025, 04:32:18 PMMumbo put up an absolutely lacklaster prediction performance last weekend, going 7-3 and dropping to 28-7 overall. Looks like Colby put up a bit of a stinker. Bowdoin over Midd makes a little sense - if they were gonna beat anyone Midd is one of those teams.

Tufts senior night Sunday at 1pm against Bates. This will be a tricky weekend to predict as seniors will be starting and anything can happen in those opening 5 mins. Bates thinks they're Duke now after that OT loss to Wesleyan, so I'm expecting a battle for at least 10 mins, maybe 35 - but Tufts will win this by double digits.

Jumbomumbo "Home Stretch" Predictions (28-7 overall, .800)

Friday:

Wesleyan 82 - Bowdoin 65 (yep)
Williams 59 - Hamilton 67 (Hamilton is better)
Trintiy 76 - Colby 49 (Trinity clobbers Colby on defense)
Middlebury 67 - Amherst 60 (Brennan wins the big man battle)
Bates 71 - Conn 73 (close but no cigar)

Saturday:

Trinity 85 - Bowdoin 49 (Trinity clobbers Bowdoin on defense)
Middlebury 67 - Hamilton 79 (Morgan makes one final push at POTY but Regan wins)
Wesleyan 74 - Colby 73 (Colby might win but I will protect my precious 80% record and play conservative)
Williams 42 - Amherst 39 (Absolute slug fest, no one can hit broadside of a barn from outside)

Sunday:
Bates 59 - Tufts 79 (Tufts seniors combine for 20+, Bob Stewart drills a 3)

JUMBOMUMBO LOCK OF THE DAY:
Eagles 34 - Chiefs 26 (Betting the Eagles is like voting against Putin because the refs are going to be against you but Saquon breaks free for 2 60 yard runs and that is the difference. Taylor Swift in disbelief.)

There seems to be a good number of posters in here. You should open up and run a pick em league next season. I'll volunteer to finish last.

Good idea, know any good sites for that? Very happy to do that and have done one in the past.

Do it like the MIAA pick em.

https://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=5915.4470

Quote from: Greek Tragedy on February 09, 2025, 07:43:29 PMDo it like the MIAA pick em.

https://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=5915.4470

You got it

The NESCAC team defensive stats continue to be pretty wild. 

PPG, nationally: 1. Trinity, 5. Wesleyan, 7. Williams, 14. Bowdoin, 20. Amherst. 

Opponent FG percentage, nationally: 1. Trinity, 3. Bowdoin, 4. Williams, 11. Amherst, 16. Wesleyan, 25. Tufts

Opponent 3 point percentage, nationally: 3. Bowdoin, 4. Williams

Beyond raw defensive stats, Trinity and Wesleyan are, incredibly, 1st and 2nd nationally in scoring margin (Tufts is next at number 20, that one Trinity game really hurt in that regard), and the NESCAC big three all rebound the ball really well: Wesleyan 8, Tufts 14, and Trinity 17.  Tufts is unsurprising as such a big and strong team, but Wesleyan and Trinity are not very big and neither has a big guy who owns the glass.  Both are deep, athletic, and relentless, and everyone who plays - especially their guards - really get after the ball. 

Trinity's statistical profile is obviously stellar and their three losses were all tough single-digit losses to good teams (Babson - back when they were healthy and rolling - in double OT, Williams, in a bit of an off game, and Wesleyan) and after dominant wins against Tufts and Bates, they really seem to be in a groove right now - seem primed for another deep NCAA run.  Like several NESCAC teams, their one weakness is three-point shooting efficiency: their defense seems to be right where it was last year, but they miss having a guy like Callahan-Gold who can hit it anytime from anywhere. If a team is going to upset them early in the NESCAC/NCAA tournaments, it's likely because they have a brutal outside shooting day, as they did against a Williams team they certainly were favored to beat.       

The only NESCAC players showing up in many national individual stats are Hank Morgan - he's 21 (and climbing) nationally in scoring average, and 38 in FG percentage, Gyimesi, who's an impressive 9th nationally in FG percentage and 36 in RPG, and David Brennan, who is 12th nationally in rebounding.  Every NESCAC player who is tasked with blocking him out is going to be delighted to see Brennan's eligibility expire; one of the most physical, relentless dudes the league has seen.  I feel like Gyimesi, Morgan and Regan are all at this points lock for one of the five D3 hoops all-American teams.  Vetter would need a big finish to the season to squeeze on. 

Despite all the aforementioned defensive stats, I'd like to put big $$$ on the Williams-Amherst 81 point over, please (even though I agree it will likely be the typical ugly slugfest between those two teams).  The Ephs' offense can still get bogged out without that one alpha star who can just will his way for a tough bucket when things grind down, but it has at least shown some signs of life averaging 78 per game during this four-game win streak (against, granted, not the toughest slate of opponents). 

For the Ephs, Evan Glatzer has provided a spark and looks fully back to the player he was prior to his injury last year.  He's averaged 7-5-3 plus 2 stocks per game on stellar shooting (64 percent from the field, and even hitting the 3-ball) over his last seven games, which may sound modest, but is a big step up from his prior rate of production (was at 3.3 ppg before this stretch) and nearly all his baskets seem to come at critical moments to swing momentum.  His one off game during the last seven was Middlebury, which obviously did not end well for the Ephs ...

Yates, Lee, and Hansen seem to take turns having great two or three game stretches for the Ephs - if Williams can get all three going at the same time they will be a tough out going forward.  In light of how Hansen and Lee have improved over time, I expect that trio to form a really tough top three scorers next year, but if the team wants to make a run down the stretch the Ephs need them to step up as a trio a bit sooner than that.  A few hot games from outside from Porter would also help. The Ephs also need to gang rebound and protect the glass in tight games, second-chance points continue to be an issue as the Ephs simply do not give up many clean looks in the half court when the defense is set, as their stats reflect, but there are too many possession which end in a bucket after two or three offensive boards. 

Quote from: nescac1 on February 10, 2025, 09:51:13 AMThe NESCAC team defensive stats continue to be pretty wild. 

PPG, nationally: 1. Trinity, 5. Wesleyan, 7. Williams, 14. Bowdoin, 20. Amherst. 

Opponent FG percentage, nationally: 1. Trinity, 3. Bowdoin, 4. Williams, 11. Amherst, 16. Wesleyan, 25. Tufts

Opponent 3 point percentage, nationally: 3. Bowdoin, 4. Williams

Beyond raw defensive stats, Trinity and Wesleyan are, incredibly, 1st and 2nd nationally in scoring margin (Tufts is next at number 20, that one Trinity game really hurt in that regard), and the NESCAC big three all rebound the ball really well: Wesleyan 8, Tufts 14, and Trinity 17.  Tufts is unsurprising as such a big and strong team, but Wesleyan and Trinity are not very big and neither has a big guy who owns the glass.  Both are deep, athletic, and relentless, and everyone who plays - especially their guards - really get after the ball. 

Trinity's statistical profile is obviously stellar and their three losses were all tough single-digit losses to good teams (Babson - back when they were healthy and rolling - in double OT, Williams, in a bit of an off game, and Wesleyan) and after dominant wins against Tufts and Bates, they really seem to be in a groove right now - seem primed for another deep NCAA run.  Like several NESCAC teams, their one weakness is three-point shooting efficiency: their defense seems to be right where it was last year, but they miss having a guy like Callahan-Gold who can hit it anytime from anywhere. If a team is going to upset them early in the NESCAC/NCAA tournaments, it's likely because they have a brutal outside shooting day, as they did against a Williams team they certainly were favored to beat.       

The only NESCAC players showing up in many national individual stats are Hank Morgan - he's 21 (and climbing) nationally in scoring average, and 38 in FG percentage, Gyimesi, who's an impressive 9th nationally in FG percentage and 36 in RPG, and David Brennan, who is 12th nationally in rebounding.  Every NESCAC player who is tasked with blocking him out is going to be delighted to see Brennan's eligibility expire; one of the most physical, relentless dudes the league has seen.  I feel like Gyimesi, Morgan and Regan are all at this points lock for one of the five D3 hoops all-American teams.  Vetter would need a big finish to the season to squeeze on. 

Despite all the aforementioned defensive stats, I'd like to put big $$$ on the Williams-Amherst 81 point over, please (even though I agree it will likely be the typical ugly slugfest between those two teams).  The Ephs' offense can still get bogged out without that one alpha star who can just will his way for a tough bucket when things grind down, but it has at least shown some signs of life averaging 78 per game during this four-game win streak (against, granted, not the toughest slate of opponents). 

For the Ephs, Evan Glatzer has provided a spark and looks fully back to the player he was prior to his injury last year.  He's averaged 7-5-3 plus 2 stocks per game on stellar shooting (64 percent from the field, and even hitting the 3-ball) over his last seven games, which may sound modest, but is a big step up from his prior rate of production (was at 3.3 ppg before this stretch) and nearly all his baskets seem to come at critical moments to swing momentum.  His one off game during the last seven was Middlebury, which obviously did not end well for the Ephs ...

Yates, Lee, and Hansen seem to take turns having great two or three game stretches for the Ephs - if Williams can get all three going at the same time they will be a tough out going forward.  In light of how Hansen and Lee have improved over time, I expect that trio to form a really tough top three scorers next year, but if the team wants to make a run down the stretch the Ephs need them to step up as a trio a bit sooner than that.  A few hot games from outside from Porter would also help. The Ephs also need to gang rebound and protect the glass in tight games, second-chance points continue to be an issue as the Ephs simply do not give up many clean looks in the half court when the defense is set, as their stats reflect, but there are too many possession which end in a bucket after two or three offensive boards. 

Tufts defense is 13th nationally according to Massey. Wes is 2 and Trin is 10th