MBB: North Coast Athletic Conference

[Wabash2011]

Wabash did not play well tonight but owned the boards and played great defense.  Bailey with 26 points, Kurosh had 12 rebounds.  Rose was 4-0 but they will struggle in their conference play.  Their defense was solid but they have trouble creating a good shot other than an outside 3.

[woosterbooster]

This just in.  Xavier Brown is pretty damn good!!!

To me, the most impressive part of Brown's game is the pull-up jumper.  After shaking himself free with various quick moves, he's able to go straight up, completely on-balance, and launch a technically-perfect jumper that's as soft as Oberlin's defense.  I don't care what level of play you're talking about, this is a big-time offensive weapon.

I spent the eighties in San Francisco and had season tickets at USF games when they had Quintin Dailey.  He had the same soft accurate mid-range pull-up jumper, and despite his other problems, this skill eventually landed him in the NBA.  Mind you, I'm not projecting that path for X. Brown, as Dailey was 6'3" with terrific leaping ability.  But Brown has this exceptional tool in his box, one that I've not seen before in D3.

[WooMix]

Impressive by Xavier Brown to date. It's been a while since the freshman days of James Cooper and it might even be too early to make comparisons but did James start his Wooster career as well as Xavier Brown has done so far? I'm just wondering.

[smedindy]

Whilst I and almost everyone else will have their eyes trained to Alliance (or in Alliance) (even though there's no video feed for the game, but alas...), the first conference match-up for Wabash is this Saturday and it seems to be a beaut.

The surprising, resurgent Big Red (I say that because they were within six of Marietta and smacked Capital a good one) play host to the LGs at 3PM. It is only the first conference game but it can set the tone for both squads. Wabash has looked quite a bit better than many had envisioned after Mac Petty retired and Wes Smith graduated. However, the cupboard was not barren, and Antoine Carpenter has looked like he has what it takes as coach and recruiter.

But Denison seems finally over the hump and squarely into contention for a home tournament game if early indications are to be believed. I know you don't like to compare scores, but Denison had clearly outplayed Witt in games against common opponents.

Should be a good one in Granville. Perhaps a few straggling alums will wander in for the second half!

[ScotsFan]

Impressive by Xavier Brown to date. It's been a while since the freshman days of James Cooper and it might even be too early to make comparisons but did James start his Wooster career as well as Xavier Brown has done so far? I'm just wondering.

Not even close.  Cooper did not start one game as as a freshman.  And Coop finished his freshman year averaging 10.1 ppg  which was good for 3rd best on that team.  Cooper really took off his sophomore year and beyond as he averaged nearly 20 ppg and led the team in scoring as a sophomore, junior, and senior.

The only player I can remember having a significant impact to the team upon arriving at Wooster in recent memory is Tom Port and Port was a transfer, not a true freshman.  Even recently departed 2 time NCAC POY started his freshman year on JV as a freshman...

[David Collinge]

The only player I can remember having a significant impact to the team upon arriving at Wooster in recent memory is Tom Port and Port was a transfer, not a true freshman.  Even recently departed 2 time NCAC POY started his freshman year on JV as a freshman...

Well, Justin Hallowell was the D3hoops.com national rookie of the year as a frosh in 2008-09. Also, Bryan Nelson was terrific as a frosh in 1999-2000.

[David Collinge]

New rankings are out, and the NCAC has three in the top 11. Denison is getting noticed, moving all the way up to #2. Duuuuuude!

[woosterbooster]

New rankings are out, and the NCAC has three in the top 11. Denison is getting noticed, moving all the way up to #2. Duuuuuude!

Ok, I can understand Wittenberg not making this list.  What with Springfield having a dive bar every fifty feet no one can even find their stash.  And at Wabash, there being no women, what's the use of having any bongs ready to go?  But Wooster?  OBERLIN?  Wherefore goeth THOU?  I mean, I've SEEN Oberlin women; you GOTTA be stoned just to say hello.  C'mon, you two schools, this is embarrassing.

[smedindy]

I've worked at Oberlin. Their high is natural.

And lets not disparage the young women of these fine schools, lest one look in the mirror! Some of prefer the granola, librarian type over the vapid Mandy Pepperidge Barbie!

 

[smedindy]

Upcoming in the NCAC:

(Again, not trying to steal DC's thunder, but I'm marking time in a hotel in Charlotte before calling my kids, and I've ran out of pejoratives to hurl at the Mt. Union folks for not having a web stream  )

Saturday, Dec. 3

Non-Conference:

Case Western Reserve (3-2) @ Hiram (2-2) - The Spartans are 2-1 vs. the NCAC and face a Terrier squad that was flat and outworked by the Big Red.  Hiram needs to see rapid improvement else they'll fall under .500.

Wooster (4-0) @ Adrian (4-2) - The consensus NCAC favorite travels to Michigan to face a Bulldogs squad that looks to be a mid-pack MIAA squad. FYI - Adrian lost to St. Francis (IL), a team Wabash beat 84-59.

Conference:

Wabash (0-0, 5-0) @ Denison (1-0, 3-3) - I spoke about this game before, but this is a good test for both squads. It's imperative that the Big Red keep its momentum, but also imperative Wabash wins games on the road like this in order to secure a high seed in the NCAC tourney.

DePauw (0-0, 4-1) @ Kenyon (0-1, 2-3) - We welcome the other set of Tigers to NCAC men's hoops play, officially. Can DPU recover from its throttling by the LGs and the uncomfortably close game against the Quakers? Can the Lords build on their first-half performance against Wooster? Kenyon's a good enough team, especially at home, to beat a team that's playing poorly or uninspired.

Allegheny (0-0, 2-5) @ Ohio Wesleyan (0-0, 5-1) - The Gators have been less than stellar in non-conference action, while the Bishops have recovered nicely from their season opening loss to Hanover. Both teams are trending in opposite directions and I think those trends continue.

Oberlin (0-0, 2-3) @ Wittenberg (0-0, 1-2) - Can you believe that the Yeomen have a better winning percentage than the original Tigers? Well, not after Saturday. While Witt isn't performing up to snuff, you'd have to think they'll get this figured out soon, right? Right?

Monday, December 5

IU - East (8-1) @ DePauw (4-1) - Maybe that Witt loss to the Red Wolves wasn't so bad after all. They're #11 in the latest NAIA - D2 poll.

Penn St. - New Kensington (3-2) @ Oberlin (2-3) - This game isn't on the schedule for Penn St. - New Kensington. I do know that PSU - NK beat PSU - Lehigh Valley 125-55 and lost to Mt. Aloysius 131-72 in back-to-back games. That's a WIDE point-differential swing.

[GoRed]

New rankings are out, and the NCAC has three in the top 11. Denison is getting noticed, moving all the way up to #2. Duuuuuude!

After I said to myself ten times "what is he smokin'?", and I Googled every basketball ranking I could find for men and women, I realized the contrast on my computer was lower than optimal and noticed the link.  (You probably had to be there to see the humor).

Not the kind of ranking you want to be tops in, but maybe it explains a lot of the past?  Right now, though, it looks like the Big Red might have found a new drug!   Let's hope they don't run out of supply in Granville!

[David Collinge]

No worries, smeds, and your version is way better than my plain list (notice I don't even include links to live stats/audio/video this year). I have no time for analysis, but I do have a composite schedule that makes for easy reference for upcoming games. I gladly cede habitual posting responsibilities to those who do it better than I ever could (see: Darry; Nester's "How They Fared" on the Top 25 page.)

[David Collinge]

New rankings are out, and the NCAC has three in the top 11. Denison is getting noticed, moving all the way up to #2. Duuuuuude!

After I said to myself ten times "what is he smokin'?", and I Googled every basketball ranking I could find for men and women, I realized the contrast on my computer was lower than optimal and noticed the link.  (You probably had to be there to see the humor).

No, I can see it just fine from right here.

[smedindy]

No worries, smeds, and your version is way better than my plain list (notice I don't even include links to live stats/audio/video this year). I have no time for analysis, but I do have a composite schedule that makes for easy reference for upcoming games. I gladly cede habitual posting responsibilities to those who do it better than I ever could (see: Darry; Nester's "How They Fared" on the Top 25 page.)

I started doing it for football and I suppose I could do this 2 times a week or so. My girlfriend hasn't moved to FL yet and I need to fill some times besides watching endless NCIS re-runs on my DVR! 

The analysis is fun to do because I really learn the teams.

[ScotsFan]

The only player I can remember having a significant impact to the team upon arriving at Wooster in recent memory is Tom Port and Port was a transfer, not a true freshman.  Even recently departed 2 time NCAC POY started his freshman year on JV as a freshman...

Well, Justin Hallowell was the D3hoops.com national rookie of the year as a frosh in 2008-09. Also, Bryan Nelson was terrific as a frosh in 1999-2000.

Yes, Hallowell was rookie of the year, but I didn't get the same sense of impact that I've seen from Brown thus far this season.  If Brown keeps this pace up, I think he will be a slam dunk for another Scot to win national rookie of the year.  Of course, I realize the season is still very young and a lot can happen, but I think Brown has done a pretty good job of proving that he's going to be a force and he isn't going away.