MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[woosterbooster]

Ok, where do we vote? 

I asked the above question last week in reference to this, wondering how we fans would go about voting for the players chosen by D3Hoops.com:

The selection process for the rosters in the Reese's Division III All-Star Game will include two players from each region, two players from the losing teams in the national semifinal games, and two players from fan internet voting at D3Hoops.com. This year's contest will be streamed live.

Was there ever any voting on this website?  Was this how the players were chosen?  Are there rosters listed anywhere for the public to see?

[Pat Coleman]

WB:

16,234 votes were collected via a poll vote on the front page of D3hoops.com, which took place between March 1 and 3.

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2011/03/massaquoi-hipp-win-nabc-vote

[woo91]

So what IS the deal on Whittington? Is he just freakishly athletic at 6-6? Can Wick take him? And probably most importantly, is he 100%?

Does Wooster have a shot here?

[woosterbooster]

So what IS the deal on Whittington? Is he just freakishly athletic at 6-6? Can Wick take him? And probably most importantly, is he 100%?

Does Wooster have a shot here?

Yes.  I have it from a reliable source that Wooster, only this morning, activated Gideon Mabeny.  It turns out that the big center, who has now grown to 7'3",  had been working out with the team since November, just in case he might be needed down the stretch.  An expert in video analysis, Mabeny has been studying Whittington's tendencies since early February, when it became clear that Williams would be a possible future opponent of the Scots.  Fear not, he says; the situation is in good hands.   

[ScotsFan]

So what IS the deal on Whittington? Is he just freakishly athletic at 6-6? Can Wick take him? And probably most importantly, is he 100%?

Does Wooster have a shot here?

Whittington does appear to be a freakishly good athlete with long arms and great hops that make him play taller than his listed height.  I do think Wick has the ability to at least slow Whittington down as Wick is quick enough to stay with Whittington and strong enough to stand up to him as well.

As for Whittington's health?  I'm sure that Williams is going to keep that hush hush until as close to game time as possible.  I haven't even heard what his injury is.  The only evidence I've even seen of his injury is that his hand was heavily taped and iced as he was cutting down the nets last Saturday.  He played 31 minutes in that game so either the injury occurred late or he played through it.  If he played through it, that might explain why his stats weren't all that impressive as he was only 4-8 for 10 points and he was also just 2-5 from the line.  Those numbers are way down from his season averages of 70% from the field, 16.7 ppg and 75% from the line... 

[Gregory Sager]

So what IS the deal on Whittington? Is he just freakishly athletic at 6-6? Can Wick take him? And probably most importantly, is he 100%?

Does Wooster have a shot here?

Whittington does appear to be a freakishly good athlete with long arms and great hops that make him play taller than his listed height.

And his listed height is deceptive; apparently he's more like 6'4 than 6'6.

[wooscotsfan]

Brief Profile of #4 Williams College Ephs 29-2

Likely Starters:
6'0" James Wang JR  18.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.4 apg, 44% on three pointers (80 made)
6'6" Troy Whittington SR  16.7 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 71% shooting on FG's
6'3" James Klemm SO  11.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 42% on three pointers (89 made)
6'3" Nate Robertson SO  7.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg
6'8" Harlan Dodson SR  4.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg

Key Reserves:
6'2" Hayden Rooke-Ley FR  6.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg
6'4" Taylor Epley FR  6.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 43% on three pointers (32 made)
6'8" Brian Emerson JR  6.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg
6'4" Jordan Mickens JR  2.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg

Williams gets over 46 combined points per game from their top 3 scorers (James Wang, Troy Whittington, James Klemm).  Whittington is quick and jumps well for a big guy so he dunks often which explains his 71% shooting from the floor.  Wang and Whittington combined have over 50% of Williams free throw attempts as they draw the most fouls.  Best three point shooters are Wang, Klemm and Taylor Epley off the bench.  As a team, Williams (just like Whitworth) averages over 10 made three pointers per game.

Wooster will need to defend the pick & roll with Wang/Whittington and the three point line to get the win.

GO SCOTS!

[woosterbooster]

6'0" James Wang - Fegan/Balch
6'6" Troy Whittington - Wickliffe
6'3" James Klemm - Balch/Warnes
6'3" Nate Robertson - Franks
6'8" Harlan Dodson - Hallowell

I'd guess that the defensive match-ups would be like this.  Fegan on Wang when he and Balch are on the court, otherwise Balch on Wang and Warnes on Klemm.

[nescac1]

The two teams look to me to be as even as two teams possibly can be on paper.  Ephs have the clear edge at PG with Wang and C with Troy, Wooster has the clear edge at the forward spots with Franks and Hallowell, and Robertson is probably about = Balch.  Even the benches look similar, both seem to get a lot of production from the 6-7-8 guys, two solid forwards and a gritty guard, with a ninth guy who is a role player.  

Local media reported this morning that Whittington had a chipped bone in his right hand, and is "progressing."  

http://www.thetranscript.com/ci_17632854

As for the Williams defensive match-ups, they will probably be the same as those for Wooster, except that I am not sure if Williams will put Robertson or Klemm on Franks.  Nate is our best defender so it might make sense, but Maker will sometimes surprise me on that front, and Klemm is our natural three (also a solid defender, but Nate is clearly our top guy on the perimeter) so he might keep him on Franks and then occasionally help out.  

[Pat Coleman]

Whittington is left-handed, so while that slows him down it isn't completely debilitating.

[ScotsFan]

Whittington is left-handed, so while that slows him down it isn't completely debilitating.

He'll only be able to dunk one handed... 

[David Collinge]

Five Minutes with Steve Fleming

[Mr. Ypsi]

Just finally got around to watching the Wooster video (linked on the front page).  Amazing, Ian Franks STILL looks about 15-16 to me!

[woosterbooster]

Five Minutes with Steve Fleming

Reading that was a waste of two minutes.

[wooscotsfan]

One of the best known sports writers in northeast Ohio is Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  He has also authored several sports books.

In today's paper, Terry Pluto's column featured Wooster Coach Steve Moore and the Scots!   Here is the link:
http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2011/03/as_wooster_chases_a_division_i.html