MBB: NESCAC

[Jumbos35]

I think Mike McGlynn from Tufts (via Brandeis) had a cup of coffee in the ABA, and Khari Brown ('94) played in one of the Pro leagues in Finland.  So I'm sure every year there are a few NESCAC grads who continue to play at some level. 

The rest of us either get into coaching or internet posting...

[auerbach]

bant, i am an old man. i coached in the ivy league and the old yankee conference back in 60's,70's , and early 80's. other places as well. hc 4 teams,bulk of my career was as an asst. i am not coaching and couldn't take the heat that comes with it . i am a scout for a number of teams over there. basically i think all 1st team nescac guys could find a home but i have interest in two. i like a well rounded game. i'm old fashioned and think the game starts with d. i look for guys who understand help defense, it's the last concept most players learn in the game. if a guy is top in his league he can put the ball in the hoop...you don't get 1st team anything for defense. so they all have o skills. if a guy understands conceptually help d he knows the game. might seem silly to you but try making a living and feeding your family with shooters. martin from tufts , strong from the waist down , understands spacing and leverage. he's a horse with good stamina and hands. good leader. bedford has all of it and more. impressive to see a kid that size challenge and beat bigger bodies off the dribble and in the paint. the kid could be a point guard and a good one. he's better suited the way he's being used now. i'm surprised amherst got him. i could have used both those guys when i was coaching. rhoten is a great offensive talent and has a fire i didn't think he had. the problem i see is he's been so offensive that when crunch time came and he had to really defend he created fouls for himself. we need americans that make everyone better not just guys that can make us score more points. he will play if he wants but he is very much a european type guy right now.there are lots like him in the baltics. i did not realize harper was averaging 25-30 , i knew he had that and suspected he would be offensively in europe but can he defend the ball. he could one net 4 pt guys....in other he gives up 21-25. i think you and hoop fan will understand where i am coming from and feel free to disagree . alot of different color horses in every race

[formerbant10]

Auerbach,

Where in the Ivies did you coach?  I knew the Columbia coach from '88-'91 pretty well.  I think the 3 players you were looking at all have the ability to player in Europe.  But I wouldn't classify any of them as top notch defenders like Adam Harper was.  But they are all better scorers than Harper was. 

I know that a few countries have gone to 6 Americans per team, and most are 3.  I'd have to believe that when a team has 6 they don't want 6 guys to all be scorers.  Well if the team wants to be successful.

[auerbach]

don't confuse understanding the passing lanes with being a complete defender. harper understood and played those lanes like a safety. he was a good defender but a bit of a lone wolf,ball hawk. i'll take it but i want a guy that's going to fight through a screen and maybe give one of his own teamates a push to get him to slide or get him in position . i was done coaching in82 and moved to italy and then the baltics when the wall came down. i live in new england now . i was  born before ww2 so i'm an old man.

[formerbant10]

I would never confuse playing the passing lanes well (which is a very good skill for a defensive player to have) with being a complete defender.  But Harper was a great on the ball defender as well.  That may have been overlooked because most of the attention he got was when he intercepted passes.  Harper had the ability to limit touches for the other teams' top scorers and in many cases a lot of teams didn't want to run their offenses to the side he was playing on.  He did that by getting through screens or by being quick enough to get over the top of the screen.

All of that may be overlooked because when he did get 1 of his 4 steals per game, it was usually on a pass that he intercepted which then led to a dunk.  So it'll stick out in one's memory a little more than the times someone didn't pass the ball to his man because they couldn't get it to him.

Thanks for the quick bio, I'm still interested in what Ivy League school you coached at.

[senatorfrost]

 I thought hunt was almost strictly a shooter. He was not afraid to go underneath and I gave him a lot of credit for that, with his lack of height and muscle. However, I don't recall him ever dazzling with anything except his shot. I viewed him as one dimensional.
I did not pay as much attention to Kain so I won't comment on my suspicions. What a shooter he was though.

[ajsnc13]

auerbach-

just wondering if you'd seen any of the other all-nescac guys play, and what you thought of them.  Martin's good, and a very effecient player, but i'm confused where he could play in europe... he's 6'9 and doesn't appear to be a great shot blocker, defender or rebounder for his size.  He plays in a league where most centers are three inches shorter than him, and I haven't seen any indication that he can shoot from farther than 10 feet.  That said, he's still a very good player...

Rhoten can move around and score from places other than the block- so he can play the 4 spot, and Bedford would be a good combo 1/2 for a team that needed one. 

Just curious on how much you've seen them or other guys play? (other than during the NESCAC tournament)

[walzy31]

I am all fired up for this weekend...but the college has to put a downer on me and start postponing IM Hoop games because of the setup in LeFrak. That's messed up.

War making 3 bids with A 10 9 4
War posting near 3am because of surprisingly high demand.
War the "automatic pilot" in the athletics vans.

[qbsfinest]

I think it will be an extremely exciting weekend at LeFrak. Utica will lose to St. John Fisher for the fourth time because they are just not as talented. However, I think Tufts can pull off the upset over Amherst on Friday. what you guys think?

[CCsalive]

Aurbach- I love that you love Bedford. I preached Rhoten for Conference POY, but Bedford's game translates the best. He is awesome off of the ball on offense too...has anyone ever seen him sweat? Has anyone ever seen him out-of-place? It doesn't happen. He posts up smaller guards...I love his game.

As for Casnocha, I have abused him the most. Never did I under estimate his ability to shoot. In the Amherst game at Conn he was 4-4 from three in the first half and I'm not kidding when I say that every single one of those shots were from NBA and beyond...he was laughing along with his bench. That said, the scouting report has his man up his jock and THEN I believe he is a non-factor.

formerbant- Wolff is a great writer, but his book is too self-inflating.

Wheeler could be the key for Amherst. Needs to bang down low and not settle for threes.

[mrmike88]

Walzy,

IM hoop games being postponed?  This is our drive to the playoffs!  We must rally commissioner Zalaski!  Both of our teams need to stay fresh so we can dominate in next week's knockout round.

I guess I can deal with it since we're prepping for the NCAA Tourney.  Another x-factor could be the play of Olson in the backcourt.  I'm waiting for him to explode again - he has been quiet recently.

[gobombers15]

Can a lowly E8 fan whose team isn't even in the tourney get an executive summary of this year's Amherst team?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Can a lowly E8 fan whose team isn't even in the tourney get an executive summary of this year's Amherst team?

They're really, really good.

[auerbach]

gobombers do yourself a favor and go back and review the last couple of weeks posts by hoopsfan . he will give you pretty good stuff , mostly unbiased and knowledgeable. i'm somewhat new to this internet stuff and his post's got me up to speed

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I don't think, however, that I commented too much on Amherst.  I think they are much, much better than they were at the beginning of the year.  I don't see either of the E8 teams getting past them at home.  Very complete and very relaxed (lots of good playoff experience).  I think they are final four worthy, even if the rest of the bracket was a little weak.