MBB: NESCAC

[auerbach]

Fisher should have hosted last year but I agree with the decision to put it in Amherst this season.
 Fisher folks give it up and stop whining.  i was at the round of 16 at amherst last year when fisher got blown out after a great regular season and the fans were blaming it on travel.maybe your league is weak. i don't know who you play or where you are from just something to think about. whatever watch hoosiers. courts are same dimensions and hoops are always 10 feet no matter where you play. be happy you are still playing and enjoy the travel. good luck and congratulations to your team. don't disparage a nice tourney with complaints this year.

[CCsalive]

It drives me nuts that Tufts and Amherst have to meet in the semi-final...that said, I've not seen Fischer or Utica and Fischer is a Western New York power. Utica? Good for them, welcome to the Sweet Sixteen...Hamilton should be embarrassed for losing to Utica earlier this year as it clearly impacted the bracket.

I'm glad I placed O'Keefe on  my All-Unsung team before his big weekend!

Most underated player? How about anyone from Tufts.  Martin for instance, even as a first-teamer.

Great to see Bedford excelling in March. My vote would have gone to Rhoten, but Bedford is a remarkable match-up for any D-III two-guard...Rhoten would always run into another monster big man...Clearly, there are no other 6-3 195 lb  fantastic two-guards in the East...until O'Keefe puts on a few pounds!

Did Hamilton have a crowd? They shot 19-30 from 3pt land in their conference championship...you live and die...

[dman]

amherst won't take tufts as lightly this time....amherst by 15....st.john fisher-utica is a joke, since utica shouldn't even have been in the field.  trinity looks awfully good in gordon's spot.  that would have made an all-nescac elite 8....still stumped as to how the ccc, emp. 8, and cunyac get two teams in, if there is actually a committee making decisions on at-large bids.  don't they even look at who these teams play? it must be strictly by the numbers!!  the nescac has been totally under-rated...

walzy,
keep talking smack.  i really do enjoy it.  i'm just waiting for the day when one of amherst' prize recruits ends up a) a bust  b) injured   c) quitting basketball   or d) in jail (it's happened before!!).  so enjoy the ride while you can.  your guys definitely have a chance to win it all...

[walzy31]

if you are a senior and you arent the first option on your team, i find it hard to believe you deserve to be able to play professional basketball.

Nescachoopsfan,

If a team in NESCAC has more than one senior scorer then your statement can be proven false. First example that jumps to my mind is the Amherst team of a few years ago when Pat Fitzsimons played in Europe and Steve Zieja had offers to play (Adam Harper was also on that team and plays in Germany now). Another example would be the choir boys. Coffin, Abba and Crotty could all have probably played in Europe and they all were the same class.

dman,

I am glad you are waiting for the day that an Amherst hoops recruit goes to jail or gets injured...that is nice. Amherst has had recruits who have quit the team, but no one is crying about it. We had a 2007 recruit quit mid sophomore year and we had a UMass transfer quit before he ever played in a game. And every team has recruits that are a surprise (either for the good or bad). Some kids bust and some kids pan out...nature of recruiting. I like the Amherst by 15 though. I was thinking in the 14-16 range.

[CCsalive]

Walzy-Have you been hanging with formerbant? Abba could not have played in Europe. He was a nice role-player on a great team.

Agreed on the NCAA selection...we all love d3hoops.com , but I'd like an explanation of the selection process...some folks seem savvy to pool C bids, etc. Was this just a fluke year with conference tourney upsets, do we have to be nice in DIII and honor the Utica's and Cortland's with bids? Are we stuck-up nescac fans?

[walzy31]

Abba has a quick release and can shoot a percentage from deep in the 40-50% range. Couple that with his respected defense (albeit everyone hated him because he scratched, clawed and pinched), he could play somewhere. Ok, I am done complimenting him.
As for playing in Europe...I think CCsalive doesnt realize how many leagues there are in Europe. There are dozens of leagues...from 1st division to 6th division... Players who I know who have played in Europe have told me that some of those bottom leagues are pretty terrible. They said that the majority of the starters in NESCAC could fit in in some capacity. Will this make these players famous? No. Will the become millionaires? No. Will they make more money than their living expenses? Probably be cutting it close. But will they be playing professional basketball in Europe? Yes.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I feel like I've explained the selection process a million times, but what's one more?

The AQ's get handed out first, then they choose the Pool B teams.  The rest of the schools are thrown into Pool C, which got 18 bids this year.

Teams in NCAA Division 3 are selected nationally, using regional criteria.  This seems silly, but it is done to keep an emphasis on playing regional games, limiting travel and missed classes, etc.

That means the primary criteria for selecting teams is Regional Ranking, In-Region Winning Percentage, QOWI number and record versus teams ranked in the final ranking (your region only).

If there are ties or close contests for bids, they can move to other criteria that involve non-region factors, but those are not often used until the last few bids.

When the committee meets, they have the final regional ranking of Pool C teams, done by the regional committees after all games are completed.  This final ranking is kept secret and not released to the public, so its very tough to know the exact measures they use for selection.

We do, however, know the process.  The committee takes the top team on each list and compares them.  So the committee is looking at eight teams, one from each region.  When they select a team, the team next in line in that region moves forward to take the selected team's place.  Thus, the committee is always looking at eight teams, one from each region.  This process is repeated until all bids are filled.

A lot of it comes down to how teams are ranked regionally.  Thus Cortland's high regional rank, combined with its very good in-region winning percentage guaranteed them a spot once they lost in the conference tournament.  Utica was far off most people's Pool C radar, but I had them in there because they won 20 games in region, were going to end up probably 3rd on the regional rankings for the East and had a decent QOWI.  It turns out I was right on that one.

In d3, its not about how good your team is, but how well you do within your own region.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Will the become millionaires? No. Will they make more money than their living expenses?

Very few leagues pay enough to cover living expenses, that's why a lot of guys are living with an ungodly amount of roommates or still at home with their parents (for domestic players).

[formerbant10]

Most teams in Europe have a place for the players to live as a part of the contract.  Some of the domestic teams as well, but not all.  And the pay can range quite a bit.

If Abba had a foreign passport, he'd be able to play easily.  If he was counted as an American he might find it a little bit tougher to catch on with a team.  If he did manage to get over there, I'd have no doubt that he'd be able to stay for a few seasons.

As for the Pool C's going to conferences not named the NESCAC.  The main reason the SUNYAC and CCC got two bids is because their conference favorite lost in the tournament.  Gordon and Cortland's records were fantastic this year.  That doesn't mean they are great teams, but they did what they had to do during the season to make it into the tournament, whereas a team like Trinity had two bad losses and not enough wins overall to surpass the other teams. 

Had they made the tournament, there's a good shot they could've made the 16 with Amherst and Tufts.  But they didn't make it, unfortunately.

Also, I heard something about O'Keefe being at least 22 years old as a sophomore.  Any truth to that?  That could change how I look at his game a little bit.

[nescachoopsfan]

walzy, yea u are right, but that isnt what i am talking about.  i was saying in newtons case, he is a senior and the first scoring option is a sophmore, i dont know if i would even say he is the second option, but maybe thats because williams would rather drive and dish for a 3, than get newton on the block.

also, okeefe is a sophmore and he is 21.  I wouldnt say that should sway your opinion of him as a basketball player.  a ton of kids take prep years and go to schools for an extra year.  so if he didnt take the route that a lot of college basketball players take and stay an extra year in high school, he would be just like most sophmores.

[auerbach]

you guys are nuts ! newton is quick as an oak tree and shy against tough opponents. okeefe already is 6'3" 195 lbs. formerbant you are being generous to an old adversary....abba. have any of you seen lincoln play ?

[formerbant10]

Auerbach,

Ask anyone who played against him, Abba was a tough player and a clutch shooter.  I'm not saying he could play in France's 1st division, but if he had an Irish passport he certainly could player there.

Neshoopsfan,

21 year old sophomore isn't too bad.  22 would've been, this isn't hockey is it?  And it would change my opinion, there is a big difference between a player at 18/19 and 21/22.  Those two years see a lot of growth in a player physically (bulking up) and mentally.  I know that many players prep a year and some have also been held back somewhere along the way.  Trinity had a few 21 year old sophomores last year.  Taylor prepped at NMH, Hasiuk repeated 3rd grade after he moved from Poland. 

But I heard that O'Keefe was older than a Trinity senior that he played AAU with.  I guess the info was wrong, but if he's older than the player I heard, he's nearly as old as me. 

[auerbach]

Bant, i coached in Europe .....you can talk all you want about playing against him  . i think you are taking europe lightly. only the best players in your league go over and play and then it's in the 3rd division , 2nd at best , and after a few seasons. also , is it hard for you to admit that your old team needs two basketballs on the floor ?

[fpc85]

lol...and two of amherst sophs are only 19...dad should of had him prep at least one year.

[nescachoopsfan]

yea, okeefe is still at a pretty normal age as a sophmore.  i'm happy to see him get some publicity because he is a much more special player than people might have seen or have given him credit.  not only can he shoot the rock, but last year as a freshman he won the slam dunk contest tufts has as part of their "midnight madness".  he should really be a force as this season winds down, and certainly in the years to come.