MBB: NESCAC

quicksilver · November 16, 2012, 03:13:02 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on November 16, 2012, 10:49:43 AM
. . . . .
I don't see a double round robin ever happening in NESCAC play, since that would take up 20 out of 24 games. But I do think every school should double up on rivalry games, maybe play four home and home each year instead of the two that a few play. . .

Why not on the home-and-home series for men's basketball??? The NESCAC instituted it for men's hockey last year and the new format looks to be quite successful. To be sure there are only 18 league games instead of the 20 there would be for men's bball (Bates does not have a hockey team) but the idea is very much the same.

nescac1 · November 16, 2012, 04:04:07 PM

Pat, true. But perhaps they could have only one home game count for the conference standings (the way it works now with Amherst / Williams / Wesleyan and Colby / Bates / Bowdoin). Basically, I too would like to see more conference games, but I think only four non-conference games per year would be a shame, and some create traditional rivalries would be eroded, not to mention, a chance to measure NESCAC squads against other regional teams ...

Panthernation · November 16, 2012, 04:22:26 PM

nescac1 · November 16, 2012, 04:56:48 PM

Wow, Panther Nation, that is nothing if not ... comprehensive. Impressive work! I have only two-quibbles with your all-NESCAC analysis. (1) IF Williams as you predict wins the NESCAC regular season crown, Nate Robertson will be at worst 2nd team, and likely first team (despite the tremendous guard depth in NESCAC this year). Nate is the kind of player who coaches absolutely love, to begin with, and for Williams to win, he absolutely HAS to stay healthy, be the primary ball-handler for virtually the entirety of every big game, and play most of the minutes this season ... as he goes, so goes Williams. At the end of his sophomore year, he was playing at a higher level than even Toomey, last year he was banged up and at times playing out of position a bit, but now as the full-time point guard, I expect folks will really see what he can do (and if not, then Williams won't win the league ... if they do win the league, he will lead NESCAC in assists, I predict, while scoring in double-digits and playing great D to boot). (2) Where is Mike Callaghan? Second team all-league last year, I expect he'll be no worse than that this season.

Williams basketball show is posted:

http://www.willinet.org/content/williams-college-basketball-show-111512

The first half is the women's show, so folks may want to skip to the mid-way point (although you'd miss some truly stellar, early-90's era graphics and synthezizer music, not to mention, the new assistant women's hoops coach who I imagine will prove to be popular in NESCAC circles).

Coach Maker, as usual, doesn't have anything terribly surprising to say. Basically, Mayer and Robertson will be the two key players, and with Klemm and Epley, form the core of the team. Still figuring out who will round out the rotation beyond those four, but the main contenders are all forwards / swingmen between 6'5 and 6'7: Kilcullen, Weinheimer, McClelland, and Wohl. Williams will be much bigger this year across the board (at times playing a center and three forward-types together), feature more inside/post play, less deep shooting, especially with Rooke-Ley out for the year. Williams has great depth up front this year, but Maker didn't even mention any of his backup guards, so that could be an issue. He didn't talk about the frosh or sophomore players in any detail, which is not unusual for Maker, so no real sense of who the break-out guys might be.

Panthernation · November 16, 2012, 05:22:38 PM

nescac1-

Agree with you on Robertson. Should switch him and Wolfin. Love watching him play, and one of the main reasons we picked Williams.

Good catch on Callaghan. At the last minute, we looked at stats again and decided to switch he and Scott Anderson, and ended up having Anderson on there twice. Luckily, an edit can fix that. Thank you.

Bucket · November 16, 2012, 07:54:11 PM

Middlebury slips past Ursinus, 78-73.

Gritty win for the Panthers on a night when foul trouble (and poor foul shooting) was an issue.

Five Panthers reached double figures--something I think we'll see often in a post-Ryan Sharry world--paced by Nolan Thompson and Hunter Merryman with 13 each (both of whom shot exceptionally well). Kizell had a very quiet 12 (though a couple of big free throws in the final seconds to ice the game). Wolfin and Lynch had 10 a piece.

Free throws kept the game close--Ursinus was a hot 21-27 while Midd was 7-14.

Midd had leads of nine and eight in the second half, but could never quite put the Bears away. It seemed like every time Midd was getting in rhythm, foul trouble disrupted things. Lynch was an effective 5-8--and scored six quick points to start the second half--but had three early fouls and was limited to 21 minutes. Roberts fouled out; Wolfin, Bulluck, and Merryman all were one foul away from disqualification.

Midd was opportunistic on D--12 steals (Jensen with 4), and from the broadcast it sounded like it was less a case of Ursinus sloppiness than Panther quickness.

Midd will likely face Staten Island tomorrow.

Gabriel · November 16, 2012, 08:42:05 PM

Quote from: Panthernation on November 16, 2012, 04:22:26 PM
Hey everyone,

We are two Middlebury students/fans who follow the basketball team pretty religiously and have been reading the boards here for the past two years. This season we have put together a big preview of the 2012-13 season (for Middlebury and the NESCAC in general) on our 'Panther Nation' blog, it is up today with the season ready to tip-off. Here are the links:

PART I: Reserve Player Profiles

Midd's 6-18: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/07/middlebury-basketball-preview-part-1-reserve-player-profiles/

PART II: Starter Player Profiles

Nolan Thompson: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/08/mens-basketball-preview-part-ii-starter-profiles/
Peter Lynch: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/09/mens-basketball-preview-part-ii-starter-profiles-peter-lynch/
James Jensen: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/11/mens-basketball-preview-part-ii-starter-profiles-james-jensen/
Jake Wolfin: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/11/mens-basketball-preview-part-ii-starter-profiles-jake-wolfin/
Joey Kizel: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/16/mens-basketball-preview-part-ii-player-profiles-joey-kizel/

PART III: Non-Conference Opponents

Schedule and Predictions: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/16/mens-basketball-preview-part-iii-non-conference-schedule/

PART IV: NESCAC Opponents

Game-by-game breakdowns, predictions, and projected final standings: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/16/mens-basketball-preview-part-iv-middleburys-nescac-opponents-and-projected-final-standings/

PART V: Pre-Season All-NESCAC Teams

1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mentions: http://blogs.middlebury.edu/panthernation/2012/11/16/mens-basketball-preview-part-v-pre-season-all-nescac-teams/

Thanks for reading- can't wait for the season.

As an Ursinus fan, I don't think it was any easy win. Give Middlebury credit, they won and are a very good team. We are now 1-1 against Midddlebury as the Bears won in 2007-2008. Don't agree that the CC is a weak conference. Top to bottom it is stronger than the NESCAC. CC has a much more challenging conference schedule by playing each team twice. Williams, Middlebury and Amherst are good, but top to bottom NESCAC is no better than many other conference.

nescac1 · November 16, 2012, 08:55:01 PM

Gabriel, the CC is not nearly as strong as NESCAC, let's be serious. Franklin & Marshall is consistently excellent, Ursinus is generally good, but the rest of the conference is generally pretty weak. The NESCAC right now as two top ten teams and another top 25 team, and Williams will likely be in the top 25 relatively soon. The NESCAC, since 2003, collectively has two national titles, three second place finishes, and, I believe, an additional four final four appearances. The bottom of the conference is not great, but neither is the bottom of the CC, and the middle of the NESCAC is stronger than the middle of the CC. It's not even close.

Watched the first half of the Williams-Southern Vermont game. Hard to judge much from it, as Southern Vermont is just not very good. Salem State will be a much bigger test tomorrow. Michael Mayer (who seems to be Option 1, 1A, and B) and Nate Robertson pretty much dominated the half, both look like they are in for very big years. Taylor Epley, Daniel Wohl, and Ryan Kilcullen (in very limited time, but he looks very athletic and aggressive, I expect he will quickly become the sixth man) also played very well for the Ephs in the half. Williams gave up a ton of offensive rebounds (partially because SVT threw up so many crazy bricks, but still, very poor boxing out), and struggled from three point range. I figure they will look more to Klemm and Epley from three in the next half, unless SVT continues to play Mayer one-on-one in the post, in which case they will continue to be abused down low. Ephs played very good defense, very aggressive, other than the rebounding issues. Flynn and Weinheimer provide a lot of length and defense off the bench, but both had a very tough time finishing inside.

In other NESCAC action, surprised to see Tufts lose its first game. Two frosh already posted big debuts, both in losing efforts: much-hyped Steve Haldanya for Tufts, and frosh PG Jaquann Starks for Trinity, who put up 21-5-5 and played virtually the entire game for Trinity (41 minutes, went to OT).

nescac1 · November 16, 2012, 09:38:30 PM

A few more notes for Williams. Ephs win by 30 despite shooting very, very poorly from 3. Epley and, in particular, Klemm both badly missed many wide-open threes, and considering they are the best shooters on the team, I think it's fair to attribute that to first-game jitters and rust, not worried about either. Ephs did a MUCH better job on the glass in the second half, but didn't defend the three very well, I'm sure Maker will talk to the team about that.

For Williams, Nate Robertson and Michael Mayer were the stars, with Wohl close behind -- he looks much more confident this year, and was extremely versatile, playing the 2, 3, and 4. Did everything well from ball-handling to scoring to rebounding to ball movement. Ryan Kilcullen was very impressive in his first game as an Eph, hitting a deep three, taking the ball to the hole aggressively, just generally looking like he really belonged out there, he will surely start playing bigger minutes soon. John Weinheimer had a very solid second half, created well for his teammates. Finally, a big shout-out to Sean Hoffmann who played maybe his best game as an Eph, tons of boards, lots of energy, and great finishing inside. He could be the answer at back-up center if he continues to play with that type of energy and poise.

madzillagd · November 16, 2012, 09:46:34 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on November 16, 2012, 09:38:30 PM

Finally, a big shout-out to Sean Hoffmann who played maybe his best game as an Eph, tons of boards, lots of energy, and great finishing inside. He could be the answer at back-up center if he continues to play with that type of energy and poise.

Agree with everything you said overall. Most enjoyable thing of the night had to be Hoffmann. He was active, in the right place at the right time and most importantly he finished. On a night where Mayer at one point missed 5 tips in a row on one possession, Sean was able to catch and finish on almost every opportunity he got. We'll see if he can keep it up but it will be a nice bonus to have if he can continue to have that efficiency off the bench.

Old Guy · November 17, 2012, 10:56:03 AM

I'm not much of a gambling man, but I had a bet with my doctor, who attended Ursinus, on last night's game. He called me earlier in the week and proposed a lunch bet, and asked for five points, which I quickly gave him. Midd won by five, so I lose, right? Or is it no blood? I should leave the point spreads to Walzy.

I don't mind losing the bet as I have a couple of ailments that I will sneak into the conversation. It would cost me a hell of a lot more to see him in his office than to pay for the tuna-melt at Mister Ups.

Hard to draw too many conclusions from last night, a good test for the Panthers. Looks like the Bears big man, 6'10" Jon Ward, had a real impact, 18 points (5-6 fg), 7 rebounds, 8-11 from the line. Our big guy, Roberts (6'8"), fouled out (2 blocks) in 17 minutes. Midd guards (Wolfin, Kizell, Thompson) all played more than 30 minutes (14-32 from the floor); Lynch among the frontcourt players had the most minutes with 21. Midd has lots of options up front. Ursinus' other big guy 6'8" Kevin Janowski had 19 points (6-11, 6-6). That's pretty good frontcourt production. Midd 6'8" Frosh Matt Daley logged 9 minutes (2 rebounds, a block). Hunter Merryman (the h.s. teammate of Williams' Wohl) had 13 points (6-10 from the floor) in 16 minutes.

Don't know what to make of host Lebanon Valley's 66-58 win over Staten Island (26-5 last year, went to the Sweet 16 before losing to MIT). Their soph point guard, Agnew, went for 21. Nolan, pick him up. Could be a nice Championship game. I'll be watching at 3:00.

OchoLoko41 · November 17, 2012, 11:33:14 AM

To call Wesleyan's win over SUNY Maritime dominant would be putting it lightly. Wesleyan defeated the visiting squad by 66 points, 104-38. While the blowout is partially due to a talent disparity, this win was a nice showcase of the Cardinal's talents. Callaghan is stretching the floor with an improved jump shot (2/3 from 3) and both Brown (11 assists) and Beresford(18 points on 7/10, 4/7 from 3) submitted quality games. Also Avery Robinson had one of the most productive games on a per minute basis (10 points from 4/4 shooting, 3 steals in 8 minutes) while rocking a nice high top fade.

Wesleyan faces Daniel Webster in the championship game of their tip off tournament today at 3.

Also, Brian Kattan, Wesleyan's sport's information director has kept up his run of quality head shots with this gem.... Tom Selleck eat you heart out
http://condor.wesleyan.edu/openmedia/athletics/mbbmugs/Pages/11.html

Gabriel · November 17, 2012, 01:10:12 PM

nescac1----I was not talking about the past, I am suggesting that this year the CC is better top to bottom. The league seems to have the best balance it has ever had. Ursinus was ranked as the 5th best team in the conference preseason and gave #4 Middlebury a battle losing 78-73. The Bears will still show up and play the games.

Williams kick off tournament this year sounds similar to the one in the 2008-2009 season. Williams played Southern Vermont and won easily. Ursinus played St Lawrence and won in a close contest. Ursinus defeated Williams in the championship game----the last time we played a NESCAC team until last night against Middlebury. Coach Small always tries to schedule NESCAC teams and we have played several in the past 13 years. NESCAC schools do not seem to want to travel to Collegeville as part of a home and away series.

Best of luck to the NESCAC this year.

amh63 · November 17, 2012, 02:45:48 PM

The Amherst first win of the season is posted on the Amherst website. The starters Workman, Toomey and Kasilla played well for a first game. Amherst gave a number of FY players significant minutes. Ben Pollack seemed ready for the conference as a backup to Big Pete at center down low and Conner Green played well on defense. A number of Amherst players got open outside shots and only made a few. Work in progress here. Several strong dunks including one great one that was disallowed. Might make the highlights sometime in the future. A FY player played PG for several minutes near the end and was harassed a bit by Newbury. Amherst plays Curry this afternoon.....only stats and no video! Students are on a break and there are other sports events to cover.
Wes.'s 66 point win is a little much, imho. Still it is not as bad as Hope College win over a badly overmatched team.....118-20....last night. Is there a mercy rule in MBB?

amh63 · November 17, 2012, 04:05:50 PM

On the NESCAC website under the scoreboard.....there is a "new"member in the conference! Anna Maria College's game is listed in the MBB section.....strange.