MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

grabthermin......well written!  Along with Panthernation's objective post, I felt I was almost at the game...without all the tension, etc.  Did go through my own "purgatory" of sorts while watching two "Midd.-like" close wins by the Amherst women's team this weekend.
It looks like Tufts is a real concern with its young talent stepping up.  Hope they are not a good traveling team when I watch them live in LeFrak.....not good for my heart and every other part of me.
Amherst has one more road trip....Hamilton in Clinton....and then it will be a long home stand. So far so good for this year's Amherst team.  Seems to have at least a solid 8-man rotation and getting offensive contribution all around.  Not many fast break points to date and the rebounding needs improving.  Guess Coach Hixon will kick me out of the gym again.  Forgot that one can only dress 15 players on a road trip which explains some missing players.

[nescac1]

Wow, surprised by Bucket's take on Palleschi.  He really could not deal with Mayer, defensively, and looked a bit slow of foot (based on the admittedly difficult to see video feed) in picking up four fouls and only four points in 12 minutes, while Mayer went off for 24-13.  Maybe his limited time allowed him to be really fresh for the Midd game.  And granted, he is only a frosh and was up against a far more experienced player (as well as the best center in NESCAC), so hard to take too much from one performance, and putting up those numbers vs. Midd's big guys is certainly impressive.  I do think Tufts, despite its record, will cause problems for a lot of teams this year, and the Palleschi-Haldanya-Moss-Ferris core, in addition to other frosh bigs who figure to become factors in future years, is a great one to build from.   I'd be surprised if, outside of the Amherst game, Tufts loses again in NESCAC play this year. 

[toad22]

After reviewing the weekend stats for Midd/Williams, I offer a couple of thoughts. First, Williams is shaping up as a very fine offensive team, but even a better defensive one. They consistently hold their opponents to shooting %s in the 30s. Their big weakness seems to be an inability to keep their opponents off the boards. As nescac1 mentioned, Eph opponents have taken far more shots than Williams, though they don't shoot it nearly as well (this weekend 37% vs Williams 56%). Also, too many turnovers. Those will eventually kill you. Middlebury, on the other hand seems to be far lees effective on the defensive end than in prior years. Their opponents are scoring a much higher % of their shots than I recall from prior years. In addition, as has been mentioned by other posters, their rebounding is much less effective. I'm sure a lot of this is due to the graduation of first Andrew Locke, and then Ryan Sharry. Those two guys were 2 of the 3 biggest difference makers in the league in recent times. You can't help but miss them. On the offensive side, Middlebury appears to be quite strong. I compared these two teams because they a traveling partners and thus have common opponents. Around the rest of the conference, Amherst appears strong, though maybe not the power they have been in recent years, and Bowdoin looks formidable. As are other posters, I am baffled by the play of Tufts. To me, they have as good talent as anyone in the league. The first year, Palleschi, is a horse. I look for him to be very good in the future.

[Bucket]

Bowdoin looks formidable. As are other posters, I am baffled by the play of Tufts. To me, they have as good talent as anyone in the league. The first year, Palleschi, is a horse. I look for him to be very good in the future.

I will be surprised if Bowdoin finishes higher than 7th, I really will. I see Bates, Tufts, and Wes all finishing ahead of the Polar Bears.

[toad22]

Bucket -- I haven't seen Bowdoin play, but they have already beaten Bates, away, as well as Colby, and Hamilton. I'm surprised they're doing as well as they are, considering they lost Hanley, and their 1000 pt scoring guard. With that, they are still winning a lot of games. We'll see.

[pick and roll]

Watched Tufts v Middlebury - was impressed by their senior leadership down the stretch as was mentioned by grabtherim - no panic whereas Tufts seemed to feel the pressure.  Can't wait for that Williams Middlebury game the end of the month it should be fun.  Still expecting Wes to be better than they have shown - can not figure them out this year.

[Maine-Man]

toad22 - I have seen Bowdoin play a couple of times this year and unfortunately have to agree with Bucket. Beating low level Maine schools, is a lot different than winning in the NESCAC, not withstanding their wins over Bates, Colby and Hamilton. Bowdoin will have a tough time against the upper tier of the NESCAC and will I predict will finish 6/7th in the league. As you say we'll see!

[nescac1]

Regarding Bowdoin, my impression, over the years, is that they are always very well-coached.  They rarely have a ton of talent ... usually between two and four good players who might start on Williams, Amherst or Midd, and then all the rest role players ... but they rarely beat themselves on either end, and tend to get some easy baskets out of running the offense and good teamwork.  They've certainly had a few wins / narrow losses vs. more-talented Williams squads.  The Bowdoin coach would be more appreciated if he was able to recruit just a few more stud players.  This year seems to fit the typical formula of relying on three solid players (Pieri, Madlinger, Hurley) without much help. 

[Bucket]

Bucket -- I haven't seen Bowdoin play, but they have already beaten Bates, away, as well as Colby, and Hamilton. I'm surprised they're doing as well as they are, considering they lost Hanley, and their 1000 pt scoring guard. With that, they are still winning a lot of games. We'll see.

Well, I see Colby and Hamilton finishing below Bowdoin, so those wins are to be expected. The squeaker at Bates was a nice win, but unfortunately for the Polar Bears, it was the non-league game. I don't see Bates losing to them twice.

[lumbercat]

I think you might be selling Bowdoin short--they have a great guard in Soph Hurley who will leave his mark on the NESCAC before he is done. They also have the luxury of size which a is a glaring deficit especcially among the lower tier teams in the NESCAC. Senior Staiger 6'10'' is a presence for them and 7 footer soph Swords is developing into a credible big man.
I saw the Bowdoin-Bates game. Gilbride put in both of the big guys in a 2-3 zone and Bates couldn't penetrate---Bates could do nothing in the paint as the 2 skyscrapers shut things down and made things difficult for Bates small skilled guards. Not sure why the Bobcats let the Polar Bears slow the game down and choke them with their zone. Agree that it is unlikely that the Polar Bears beat Bates twice as I am sure that Coach Furbush is hoping to see that 2-3 look again from Bowdoin. I'm sure he will go to an up-tempo attck and run at least one of those big guys out of the game. Bates 6'6'' guy Bogdanovich is a grinder with some real skill....but he's all alone in the frountcourt.
Bobcats are scrappy and have some talent in the backcourt but need to run against bigger teams...... and the whole conference is bigger than them. They will hold their own in the second tier and may surprise a team or two but I'm sure  Coach Furbush is working the recruiting line hard for some size which will make them a contender.

Bowdoin has some balance and will surprise the upper tier a time or two this year- don't underestimate the P Bears. Hurley will a great one in Brunswick.

Some great incoming frosh this year though FY's are more noticeable in the lower tier programs due to opportunities for playing time. At the end of the day the pre season recruiting buzz tends to be fairly accurate on NESACAC hoops unlike NESACAC football where the up front info tends to be less reliable.

All NESCAC Frosh--

Tufts-   Tom Palleschi and Steve Halydayna -Jumbos were alleged to have the best incoming class and the pundits look to
            be correct with these 2 guys from the North Shore of Ma where Tufts recruits successfully year after year.

Colby-  Chris Hudnut -6'8" 260 lb C/F--an athlete with size and skill- 27 pts the other night against Hamilton. A bull in     
           the paint. One of sveral highly touted Mule freshmen. Other FY's  still yet to impress but the potential is there with
           Stewart and Hausman.

Hamilton-   Matt Hart- maybe the best of the incoming NESCAC lot---playing out in the wild west of NY                     
                 nobody knows how good this kid is yet---pretty soon the Amherst/Williams/Middlebury syndicate that   
                 run this board will have him on their radar screen.

Bates-   Mike Boornazian--In terms of raw ability this boy might be the best in a while in Lewiston before he's done and   
            that includes Reilly guys Ray, Stockwell and Ellis.   

Trinity- Jaquann Starks- A local kid from Hartford who was under all recruiting radars. A small guard at 5'9" but this is     
           the NESCAC where raw speed can bring results---keep an eye on this kid.
       

[amh63]

Lumbercat....enjoyed your post and the heads up on the Hamilton player.  Amherst goes to Clinton this Friday and I'm sure Coach Hixon is well aware of the Continentals.
I watched the first Bates-Bowdoin game and my take on what I saw was the non productive offensive factor of the Polar Bears' front line against a decisive smaller in size Bates team.  The 6'10" starter does not run the floor well, IMO, and the 7-footer still seems tentative on both sides of the game.  I did not watch the entire game since the webcast was hard on my eyes.....I was actually rooting for Bates.
You pointed out the FY talent of some of the "CAC" teams.  You comments often referred to some players as best in the conference.....where does the two FY players that have been getting playing time at Amherst fit in in your astute mind?

[Maine-Man]

Regarding Bowdoin, my impression, over the years, is that they are always very well-coached.  They rarely have a ton of talent ... usually between two and four good players who might start on Williams, Amherst or Midd, and then all the rest role players ... but they rarely beat themselves on either end, and tend to get some easy baskets out of running the offense and good teamwork.  They've certainly had a few wins / narrow losses vs. more-talented Williams squads.  The Bowdoin coach would be more appreciated if he was able to recruit just a few more stud players.  This year seems to fit the typical formula of relying on three solid players (Pieri, Madlinger, Hurley) without much help.

Bowdoin is a great academic institution that should definitely be able to attract top talent, like Williams, Amherst and Midd. (Bowdoin's women's program has historically been successful in getting a lot of top talent, but not the men's program.)  My belief is Gilbride's style of play does not convince top-tier student-athletes to come to Bowdoin and is a deterrent to getting more stud players. Bowdoin is competitive, but they play conservative and rarely win the big games when they count. Don't see that changing this year.

[pick and roll]

Maine-man - any idea how Hanley is doing playing overseas.  I always liked him - nice lefty shot with good size and quickness.

[Maine-Man]

Maine-man - any idea how Hanley is doing playing overseas.  I always liked him - nice lefty shot with good size and quickness.

Pick and roll - Hanley is having a nice season playing in Spain. He is averaging 18pts and 11rbs a game. Good chance of moving to a higher level European league next year.

[jayhawk]

New recruit for Amherst College, 6'8" Jacob Nabatoff from Charlotte Latin in North Carolina
developing big man

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/01/08/3762918/former-player-helping-hawks-fly.html