MBB: Conference of New England

[CCC Talk]

Gordon is a nice team with nice players, but this is the worst I can remember the CCC  being in 6+ years

The 'Bury by 18

[backboard]

Curry and Wentworth will be in the ECAC tournament as #7 and #8 seeds respectively

[scout]

I have posted Gordon's tournament profile in the Multi-Regional Section of the boards.

http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=6817.msg1184052#msg1184052

[akirk]

What do we think of Gordon's chances this weekend?  It looks like they match up good when you compare common opponents.  It will be a good test.  I feel like they have a chance but it will be difficult.

[high flyer 21]

I think Gordon has a solid chance too.  They both beat and lost to common opponents by similar amounts.  In my opinion Middlebury is the toughest out of the 3 for Gordon to face though.  RIC and Rutgers-Newark are highly guard oriented and Gordon can beat them if they dominate the paint.  Middlebury on the other hand is a very tough team in the paint.  Gordon's inside and outside game needs to perform at its absolute best for them to win.

[gogordon11]

couple videos of the final play of the CCC championship game (and ensuing fun) for people who didn't see the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjsvsNbZRhY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDRJ4vNeVKI

Gordon obviously has a steep task at hand, and it seems that they will have to play like they did versus Endicott and CSC to really give themselves a chance. I do feel that Gordon matches up relatively well with them, and the common opponents are an encouraging factor.
Here are some stats on Middlebury:
Middlebury's leading scorer is Ryan Sharry (13.2 ppg), a 6'8" Soph. Forward. He also leads the team with 7.8 rpg. He shoots 53.5%, and though he only took 30 3-pointers this season, he did make 13 of them, good for a 43.3% rate.
Their next leading scorer is Jake Wolfin, 10.6 ppg, a 6'2" Fresh. Guard. He shoots at a 39.6% clip from the field, and if Middlebury's stats page is correct, 160 of his 227 attempts are from behind the line, where he shoots 40.6%.
Another Freshman, 6'3" Guard Nolan Thompson is their third leading scorer at 10.2 ppg. He shoots 43%, 31.8% from 3-point land.
Their #4 scorer, 6'10" Junior Center Andrew Locke added 9.1 ppg, and pulled down 5.2 rpg. Locke was Middlebury's top shooter in terms of FG percentage, coming in at 61.4%. Gordon does not have a lot of fouls to give as far as their bigs, but they would be well advised to spend those fouls on Locke, who shot only 39.5% from the free-throw line, while going to the line a team high 86 times (3.2 attempts per game).

Overall as a team, Middlebury averages 71.4 ppg, shoot 44.6% FGs, 34.9% 3FGs, 66.1% FTs, 40.7 rpg, 15.4 apg, and 13.4 topg. They outscored their opponents by 13.3 ppg, out rebounded by 4.2, and had a +1.6 turnover margin on average.

Of the seven players that average more than 20 minutes per game, five are 6'4" or taller: Ryan Sharry, 6'8", Andrew Locke, 6'10", Ryan Wholey, 6'4", Tim Edwards, 6'4", Jamal Davis, 6'5". Just to compare (not that they all average that many minutes), for Gordon, Dempsey is 6'5", Derr is 6'8", Gaskill is 6'9", and Walker is 6'7". MacDonnell is considered a tweener for Gordon, even though he is listed at 6'2". I don't know if Coach Murphy will try Gaskill against Sharry and dare Locke to be the bigger scorer, or if Derr/Walker will be counted on to shut down Sharry as Gaskill goes against Locke. If the Gordon bigs get in foul trouble, it could get ugly. It would appear that Gordon has more star power, with the big scoring from Trigg/Bajema/Walker, but Middlebury's players just don't get as many minutes, as Sharry averaged 25.4 mpg, Wolfin 24.4, Thompson 28.1. Their mpg leader was actually Tim Edwards, a 6-4 senior guard, who contributed 8.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and a team leading 5.2 apg.
I think we all can root for a good game, and that TCCC will be represented well. I would consider Coach Murphy's game plan and halftime adjustments as key to the game, and if Trigg and Bajema are shooting well, Gordon has every chance of pulling the upset (in my highly biased opinion).

[Maq Diesel]

Aaron Trigg was named a Jostens Trophy Finalist.  Great stuff, congratulations to Aaron.

[scout]

Aaron Trigg was named a Jostens Trophy Finalist.  Great stuff, congratulations to Aaron.

Where did you see this?

[backboard]

It's on the front page

[backboard]

"The finalists for the prestigious Jostens Trophy are being announced today by members of the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The award, which honors the top Division III basketball men's and women's student-athlete of the year, is based on three criteria: basketball ability, academic ability and community service."

Apparently academic success at Gordon can take you far

[scout]

"The finalists for the prestigious Jostens Trophy are being announced today by members of the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The award, which honors the top Division III basketball men's and women's student-athlete of the year, is based on three criteria: basketball ability, academic ability and community service."

Apparently academic success at Gordon can take you far

Trigg is the CCC student athlete laison (he helped create the role two years ago). He is the student body president and is also the leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on campus. He is a business administration/finance double major with a pre-law emphasis.

If you are doubting his basketball ability, he is number four on Gordon's all-time scoring list and has more than proved his ability throughout his career.

I think he satisfies all three criteria quite satisfactorily.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Trigg's not going to win, but it's a huge honor to be nominated.  I wonder if Shauer had anything to do with getting his name up for consideration?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

As for the game this weekend, I think Edwards and Sharry will be the guys to worry about.  Wolfin and Locke are good, but complementary players.  The biggest problem I see for Gordon is that if it takes two guys to shut down Sharry, Locke can score enough to hurt you.  The same thing is true of Edwards.  If GC leaves Wolfin open too often, that's trouble.

I think it's just as we've been saying all along.  Gordon needs their best game to have a chance, but the fact that they have a chance is a good sign, especially drawing a team as highly regarded as Middlebury.

[backboard]

"The finalists for the prestigious Jostens Trophy are being announced today by members of the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The award, which honors the top Division III basketball men's and women's student-athlete of the year, is based on three criteria: basketball ability, academic ability and community service."

Apparently academic success at Gordon can take you far

Trigg is the CCC student athlete laison (he helped create the role two years ago). He is the student body president and is also the leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on campus. He is a business administration/finance double major with a pre-law emphasis.

If you are doubting his basketball ability, he is number four on Gordon's all-time scoring list and has more than proved his ability throughout his career.

I think he satisfies all three criteria quite satisfactorily.

Please, he's barely a top 5 player in TCCC within the past 5 years.  Being the leader of a group that I doubt most CCC players haven't even heard, and he created himself, is just wonderful too.

[scout]

"The finalists for the prestigious Jostens Trophy are being announced today by members of the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The award, which honors the top Division III basketball men's and women's student-athlete of the year, is based on three criteria: basketball ability, academic ability and community service."

Apparently academic success at Gordon can take you far

Trigg is the CCC student athlete laison (he helped create the role two years ago). He is the student body president and is also the leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on campus. He is a business administration/finance double major with a pre-law emphasis.

If you are doubting his basketball ability, he is number four on Gordon's all-time scoring list and has more than proved his ability throughout his career.

I think he satisfies all three criteria quite satisfactorily.

Please, he's barely a top 5 player in TCCC within the past 5 years.  Being the leader of a group that I doubt most CCC players haven't even heard, and he created himself, is just wonderful too.

Say what you wish. Clearly, those with more knowledge than you or me felt he has a resume worthy of nomination. I tend to side with those who have the experience, knowledge, and authority.