MBB: Liberty League

[shooters]

Giorgi an all american? The guy can't get from one end of the court to the other without someone laughing in the stands. I haven't seen Giorgi play this year but last year he was flat out awful. He couldn't guard a tree on a calm day let alone D3 players. If he ever starts for Hamilton or averages more than five points a game I will get on my knees and beg for your forgiveness. I think Ray can play but neither one of these guys even start for Hamilton. All Americans don't sit on the bench no matter who is coaching. With those comments I now know you have a  serious bias toward Murphy and against Anderson. Next thing you will tell me is that Nick Jones went to Clarkson because of its academics not the coach. Enough. I know where you stand on this issue you know where I stand, lets get back to basketball. Anyone know anything about Middlebury?

[Hoaf]

I just wanted to say that Giorgi averages more than 5 points a game.


## SUMMARY              GP-GS   Min   FG%  3PT%   FT%  R/G  A/G STL BLK PTS/G
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Giorgi Chavleishvili      5-2  14.2  .571  1.000 .667   2.0   0.8    1    0    7.4

[Hoaf]

Middlebury seems like a perennially middle of the road kind of team. I haven't seen them play but through analyzing their stats it is interesting to see that no one averages more than 26 minutes a game. Their highest scorer averages 13.7 points a game and a few people average around 5 rebounds. Their 3-point field goal percentage is decent at around 39%. They have only made the NESCAC playoffs 3 of the last 5 years.

So far this season they have beaten Union but lost to St. Lawrence and Rensselaer. I think Hamilton is going to have a tough time with them tomorrow. Especially, with how they played against Wesleyan the other night. Hopefully, they'll come out with the win.

[met_fan]

Middlebury is another team that Hamilton has to beat.  They are perennial bottom-feeders in the NESCAC.

[shooters]

Alright I got a little carried away with Giorgi and the 5pts my apologies. Sounds like Hamilton is playing well in the first half, thanks for the breakdown on Middlebury.

[Hoaf]

84-86 Middlebury over Hamilton.

No words can describe how upset I am with this loss. I think we were coached into it by putting players on the floor who couldn't score for most of the second half.

Anyone see the game? Have an opinion?

[woot returns]

once again, middlebury was a team hamilton should have easily defeated. i looked at the stats and found that middlebury shot about 16 more shots than hamilton.....hamilton was outrebounded. horrible defense by hamilton. why they didnt get the ball to tk every possession is beyond me. he was unstoppable. and nick jones is having his worst season in his college basketball career. he should be ashamed with his play. yeh i agree with you, the decisiom to have 5 freshman and sophmore guards out on the floor at once was absolutely ridiculuous.

[shooters]

First off Middlebury should not have been within single digits let alone win the game. Secondly you can say all you want about the coaching but the bottom line is Hamilton was outplayed. They were absolutely KILLED on the boards, Middlebury got at least three shots for every one of Hamiltons. J. Simpson kept Hamilton in the game and hit two huge 3s and TK fouled out so he couldn't have been in the game at the very end but yes he should get a touch every time down the floor. Ray Ray killed them with late turnovers. Nick Jones better have the flu or be seriously injured b/c at this rate he should probably not even start. Not a good loss for Hamilton but the way they have been playing you could see this one coming. I'm as upset as anyone.

[Hoaf]

I completely agree with you on everything you said. Nick Jones has definitely been more of a liability than a star on the court this season.

[d3bballfollower]

granted...Nick Jones is having statistically his worst season in college to date...but saying that he is a liability on the floor is ludacris...he is playing 25 mpg and getting 11 and 5 per contest while shooting 50% from the floor...yes, he is tied with tk with most turnovers on the team...but just having a guy like nick who is 6'6" and can play on the wing is a huge asset in D3...Nick has proven that he is a very good player...he just needs to take that next step up to be a great D3 player...he will hopefully break out of his funk (for Hamilton's sake) and I have a feeling that by the time the season ends Jones will be back to typical form, if not better

[Hoaf]

I don't know what you see in Nick Jones. He's a ball hog who doesn't play with the team. I've been watching him since he came to Hamilton. Have you noticed that he doesn't watch the play when he's on the bench and that he just sits there talking to the people next to him. I get your points and they could be absolutely true. I was glad to see that he hit a big three down the stretch yesterday but his play hasn't been stellar and he hasn't been passing the ball. Hamilton needs to pass the ball and play as a team. The only one who has any right to demand the ball is TK. TK is by far the best player on team. When they went to Amherst last year in the NCAA tournament he was the only one capable of scoring. So... Finally, Jones needs to start playing with the team and TK needs to be more selfish. Jones.... I guess isn't a liability but he needs to start passing the ball.

[shooters]

No I agree that Nick Jones has the skills to be an awesome player that is what is so upsetting. I will wait and see but he should be dominating and he doesn't seem to be playing with any heart.

[d3bballfollower]

cardz-you are definitely right about hamilton needing to share the ball better...they are averaging a little less than 13 assists a game as a team...tk leads the team at 2.5 apg, followed by alston at 2 and jones and simpson at 1.5...hamilton needs to be averaging at least 16-17 assists per game to be a good team consistently...last year they had welchons that could get to the hole if the offense broke down, they had valenti who could knock down an open triple with his eyes closed and they had peck who they could count on to get a board...this year they may not have as much individual talent, but that should lead to them sharing the ball better...right now tk is getting about 15 shots per game...i think if anderson can get him 17-18 shots a game the continentals will be very hard to beat...and also i think the guys need to figure out who the shooters are and who are not...they only have 1 guy who has taken more than 1 3 on the year shooting above 40% and only 2 above 35%...the more inside touches tk, wood and giorgi get down low, the more open looks jones, rozgys, alston, etc will get on the perimeter

[UCAAHoops21]

So SLU is 9-0, Hamilton is 5-1 and RPI and Clarkson are 6-2 so far...

What are everybody's biggest surprises so far???  Is RPI and/or Clarkson good enough to knock off SLU or Hamilton?

Any good stories from the first semester?  If Hamilton is as shaky as some posters say, is SLU the team to beat???

Looking at schedules, Hamilton lost at home to middlebury, Middlebury lost to SLU at SLU, Middlebury beat Union at Union, and RPI beat Middlebury at Middlebury.  Does this say anything about any of the teams? Just curious

[slickyquick]

Everyone is knocking Nick Jones and I guess to a certain extent there are legit concerns. One thing we need to realize that there is a reason he is a D3 player. If he was a 6'6" athletic wing who brought his "A" game all the time he wouldn't be at Hamilton. He would probably be at a Patriot League school.

Everyone labels these guys as superstars and expects them to be "world killers" everytime they go out on the floor. It just doesn't happen all the time. Not comparing Tyler Hansborough with Jones but Hansborough has been held to single figures twice this year, so that automatically makes him the worst player in Carolina history.

Everyone just needs to settle down and let these kids play instead of getting on everything they do wrong. They aren't scholarship athletes.