MBB: NESCAC

[lildave678]

Definitely understand that (I ump and ref soccer). I guess my point was there's a reason one group is doing the GNAC and one is doing the NESCAC haha

[nescac1]

Congrats to Williams on a gutty, hard-fought win.  Two Midd players played out of their minds, but Williams played better as a team. A few thoughts:

(1) Game ball for me goes to Daniel Wohl.  Simply incredible effort for a kid who has barely run, let alone played hoops, for the last three weeks after contracting mono: 31 minutes, 19 points including 4 HUGE threes, 4 boards, and his usual sticky defense.  He is by far the most athletic player for Williams and it makes a BIG difference when he is on the court.  I just hope he (and for that matter, the rest of the Ephs) have something left for the Amherst game tomorrow. 

(2) Michael Mayer, despite struggling a bit to guard Lynch, was fantastic.  22-13 in a huge game.  If somehow Williams can pull out a miracle tomorrow, he is definitely in the POY conversation.  He will need to come up massive vs. Amherst for Williams to stand a chance.   For those who did not see, Mayer had the play of the game in OT when he smartly threw a loose ball at Lynch, who was laying on the ground out of bounds, to secure it for Williams.  Heady play.

(3) I think we can officially end the Nolan Thompson for POY campaign after this game.  I love Thompson, great player, but he created a total of one shot for himself on offense in 43 minutes.  2-7 from the field, 0-3 from the line, and even his (well-deserved) vaunted defense was off, as Taylor Epley managed to shake free on a number of occasions and scored an efficient 13 points on 6-9 shooting (adding 4 boards and 2 assists to boot).  Really nice to see Taylor finally break through and win a battle vs. the Thompson/Workman pair.  Things get no easier tomorrow, of course. 

(4) Midd dared Nate Robertson to shoot all day.  It was effective, with Nate only hitting 1 of 5 from three (all very open, and he had other open looks had he chosen to take them).  Despite that, he still managed to penetrate quite effectively, finishing with 14 points and 8 dimes.

(5) Coach Maker coached a MASTERFUL offensive game.  Williams scored a LOT of baskets off back-door cuts and the motion offense.  At least five times Ephs lost their man on rolls to the basket and were hit with passed for easy buckets.  That kind of offensive presicion and patience, which has reemerged starting in the second half of the Trinity game and through the last two full games after being MIA for about three weeks, is what characterizes Maker teams at their best.  Williams will have to consistently execute like that and get baskets off the TEAM game, because other than Mayer, they are not going to consistently beat Amherst defenders one-on-one. 

(6) James Klemm was on fire.  Very, very good to see. 

(7) Midd really picked apart the Williams zone, killing the Ephs with great passing by the bigs inside.  Lynch operated very well (better than I realized he could) from around 10 feet away from the basket.  Midd did miss too many good looks from 3, and when Williams went man, they shut everyone down, save for Lynch.  Weinheimer and Wohl did play some nice, aggressive D on Lynch ot at least slow him down late in the game and in OT. 

(8) Bears repeating: Kizell and Lynch were simply awesome for Midd.  Merryman and Jensen solid off the bench.  But Thompson and Wolfin's shooting woes and the inability to defend the back-cuts killed Midd. 

(9) Williams looked to push the ball a LOT until late in the game.  I'm not sure it was always to their benefit.  They threw a lot of passes away, leading to momentum-killing turnovers.  The half court offense was working great.  No need to force the ball.  If the fast break is there, certainly, go for it, but don't force it ahead when there isn't a numbers advantage.  Williams had to shoot the ball great (and they did) as Midd had a LOT more shots, in part due to the turnover differential (also offensive boards, which are always going to be a problem with a zone defense). 

[madzillagd]

Thought the officiating was pretty good this game.  I could not see the fouls on the webcast when Midd had 3 chances in a row for 3 pt plays.  Not saying there weren't any fouls, just couldn't pick them up on the webcast so they were a bit of a head scratcher.

Another well played game from both sides and I think the offensive weapons from Williams really were the difference in this one.  First game in a long time where all the starters got it going and made their points at different times of the game.  Mayer was solid from start to finish and nice to see Wohl and Klemm both knocking down 3s.  Epley found a way to get into the game going 6-9 and finished with 13 pts. 

Final thought: the Williams zone may end up being the death of me.

[jumpshot]

One of the best team wins this season by Williams against a well-coached, always determined Middlebury group.
Agree with NESCAC1 that Coach Maker is one of the finest ---has his teams prepared, creates a mental toughness and resilency in his players, develops a culture of unselfishness and basketball intelligence. A player's coach who advances the character and conduct of his players.

Of course, it helps to have good players ---he leads a Division 3 program about as well as any I've seen across the United States.

[walzy31]

I agree with Nescac1 but will argue that the Williams zone looked really tough. It took Middlebury 20-25 seconds to get the ball into the middle of the zone (on the occasions that Midd was able to flash someone into the middle), and many of the threes that came from Middlebury's zone offense possessions were not clean looks. It looked like a better zone than the games against Amherst earlier in the year.

Should be another classic tomorrow. I talked the talk about wanting to play Williams two more times; time for the Jeffs to walk the walk.

[walzy31]

2013 NESCAC Championship Game

Williams @ Amherst
Amherst -4.5
O/U: 145.5

[walzy31]

and as everyone saw today, Daniel Wohl is worth a lot of points to the line. Had I known he was healthy enough to play 30 minutes the spread would have been Midd -4 or -5 today...still off

[Bucket]

My thoughts, such as they are:

• I guess when you don't lose that often, the losses that come are more painful. This was one of those.
• The Williams Five played as well as others have stated. Every one of them--nice complete games.
• I'll quibble w/NESCAC1 a bit: I didn't think Mayer was fantastic. He was very good, but he benefited from an expertly designed offense, a playmaker like Robertson, and the fantastic shooting of Klemm and Wohl. With that duo shooting the way they were, the Midd bigs had to hedge hard on their screens, giving Mayer the space to break free for good looks. POY talk for Mayer is silly; he was the 3rd or 4th most valuable player on his team today.


• Wohl and Klemm: they were the difference.


• wish Pete Lynch got more recognition for what he does. He was a beast out there today--and has been so much of the year


• There was one egregiously incompetent official out there today. He had both coaches beside themselves at key points of the game.


• Always nice to see chat folk in person, today Toad22 and Walzy.
• Heady play by Mayer, yes, but badly blown call--the ball hit the ground, then Lynch. Clearly. Refs were unsure, so apparently went with original call. I'm guessing that this uncertainty was why Kizel didn't get T'ed up.
• Would really like to see Williams make a game of it tomorrow, but I don't know if they can play better than they played today. Can they do it two days in a row? And will it even be enough?

[amh63]

Watched the 2nd game in LeFrak with some interest.....to see who could match up better with Amherst.  The people wearing the strip shirts in the game were better than in the ones in the Amherst game but agreed that there were "funny" calls in the game...."strange" would be a better word I think.  Thought the "play" by Mayer, though clever, should not have been allowed.  The last possession by both teams at the end of the regular game were not handled well...Panther player being stripped early and Williams wasting their possession to get a last shot off.  Pressure in a critical game?

As the regular game was coming to a finish, it was obvious to me that Lynch was having a better overall game than Mayer in the #5 position..more points and rebounds and more critical to the Panther's offense than Mayer to the Ephs.   See, Bucket, I can agree with you on this point.
I had trouble seeing who Norm T. was guarding at times....someone help me here. 
Liked Roberts block of a Mayer shot early in the game...thought he was called for some touch fouls at times.
Maybe My attention to the game wandered a bit....didn't see Nate Robertson's do much on offense...thought he made some fine defensive plays.....and then saw he had double figure points!

Await the game on Sunday.....hope it is not a repeat of the '07 final.  Maybe Amherst will meet the Panthers in the post-season somewhere.

[Bucket]

Amh63: I take great delight in us being in agreement.

A little Bucket trivia: Before moving to Vermont, I lived in the DC area for 7 years; coached JV ball at Sidwell Friends. When Adam Harper was a tenth grader at St. Albans, he dropped 30 on Bucket's team, but the Quakers still got the W.

[Charles]

Just to put the refs in perspective - Albertus got two weak technical calls in the final minutes of the game for talking to the refs. The kid from Middlebury was absolutely screaming at the ref and I'm sure a tech never crossed the refs mind. Gotta keep the context of the game in mind.

Interesting perspective? Why is it that every call is bad and every call is argued?

[madzillagd]

Funny that one player's 23 & 12 is playing like a beast, and another's 23 & 13 is due to his teammates.  Not sure I understand that logic at all.  They both played their role well and matched each other point for point obviously.  Lynch caught the ball 10 ft and in and finished consistently, Mayer either posted up or dove to the basket on cuts and finished.  Both played well.

I don't understand what the issue was with the Mayer out of bounds play.  Only if it hit the ground first would there be an argument, which it didn't look that way to me but of course I'm watching over the web.  Doesn't matter if the opponent is standing one inch out of bounds or on the ground 5 ft away, it still counts as them being out of bounds so I'm not sure why folks are having a problem with that play. 

Walzy - My issue with the Williams zone is that they use it so much at times it really allows teams to settle in and get comfortable.  Even if teams start out shooting poorly, it seems after a few minutes guys will start to relax and knock down the open 3s....and by open it's usually at least 5-10 ft open.  Ephs got up by 5, subbed out and went to the zone - tie ballgame.  Starters back in, eventually build it up again to 7 - zone and then it's back to a one possession game.  They expend so much energy building a lead and then they give it up in 2-3 minutes of zone, usually on 2-3 threes they give up.  I'd love to see them stay in man for the entire first half and see if they can turn a 7 point lead into twice that going into the half.  Even that first Amherst game, they had the first half lead, subbed out, went to zone, and then got crushed from that point forward as Amherst settled into the groove.  Unfortunately if they do it again tomorrow I expect the same, zone = relaxed shooters that find a rhythm. 

[grabtherim]

Congratulations to both winners today.  The better teams won each game, and tomorrow should be interesting.  Can Williams find a way to change the drubbing they took the last time these two teams met?

 
Tufts played a heck of a first half, but as the game wore on, Amherst's experience and leaders took over.  I know Toomey deservedly gets a tremendous amount of notice here, accolades far and wide, and he should, he is a tremendous talent.  Still, IMO watching games, Workman is the straw that stirs the drink for Amherst.  He has an uncanny ability to create for himself and to pop to open guys when the situations calls for it or when he finds himself in a bad spot.  If Toomey has an off game even in a big one, Amherst can win.  I dont think the same can be said if Workman has a really bad night going forward in the post season. 

Williams did a heck of a job today in all facets especially shooting the heck out of the three balls.  IMO their defense was a notch above what I had seen from them before.  Midd did not shoot well.  While some of that falls on them, I have to give credit where credit is due to the Ephs D as well.  That being said, no Eph defended Midd's foul shots which were really off.  If Midd gets a bid, they will make and early exit if they shoot like they did today from the charity stripe.  I sure hope Midd gets the chance to see what they can do in the tournament.

My other observations are more from a people perspective versus a basketball one.  What posseses grown men to heap personal and nasty comments to kids during great games like these?  You may see fit to chastise me for a double standard, but while I cringe at some of the kid to player stuff heard during a game, I can live with it as to me it is peer to peer, and for all intents and purposes they are still kids.  Am I alone in cringing when I hear the same from adults to kids, usually followed by a rap on the guys arm next to him, and a shared laugh at how witty they are?  To see a young man follow up on his promise to scream out when a 20 year old went to the free throw line was only made worse when he bragged about doing so and promised to keep it up.  Hopefully on reflection he will realize this is not the way he should want others to see him.

Good luck to today's winners.  Have a great game.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that by this time Monday, we will have three NESCAC teams going to the big dance.  For all of those lucky enough to be in the gym tomorrow not identified as freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, try hard to set an example for good sportsmanship in what is sure to be a heated game for those who are identified by those once in a lifetime titles. Rather than perfectly illustrating how not to act, when the urge gnaws at you to yell something out to a kid less than half your age, or perhaps closer to it, bite your lip and dont do it.             

[madzillagd]

grab - That is pretty sad to hear about the fans.  Didn't hear it on the telecast but that's probably because I stuck the telecast on mute after the first 5 minutes.  The Amherst announcers for the contest were pitiful to put it mildly.  For the portion I had on, they spent the entire time bragging about the Lord Jeffs and taunting the other two teams.  What's the point of having them do the game if they are not mature enough to simply announce the action on the floor?  Bit of an embarrassment to the NESCAC if you ask me because you have people around the nation tuning into these games.  Would much rather have a crew from Midd or Williams on the mic so at least they'd have knowledge of one of the teams.  The audio was crap so I put it on mute early on and was very happy I did. 

[JustAFan]

Some random thoughts on a terrific day of basketball after a slippery ride home from the Pioneer Valley:

--I thought the Tufts game plan to control Toomey was solid, and had they been able to contain Workman it might have worked notwithstanding the great job that Kalema turned in at the point. Firempong did a solid job containing Toomey, but Tufts didn't have a big guard (like a Wohl) who could defend Workman. It's a small thing, but Firempong forced Toomey to go left most of the game, and it made a difference. I'm surprised that more teams don't take a similar approach with Williamson, who loves to go right, and can't go left well.

--Some day I would love to see a ref have the guts to finally call Toomey for pushing off with his off-arm. It's beyond blatant, but he consistently gets away with it.  He also holds a lot off the ball on defense, and he finally got called for it this afternoon. 

--Tufts is assembling the horses it needs up front to compete at the top of the NESCAC but the Jumbos need a dependable shooting guard and a big guard who can defend, like a Wohl or Epley, to get to the next level. 

--After watching him compete today, there's no doubt in my mind that Palleschis is the ROY. He's also developed into his team's leader even though he's only a freshman.  I now look forward to watching him pitch this spring on the diamond for the Jumbos, perhaps against some of the Middlebury combo hoops/baseball players.

--Amherst's depth really showed today.  They have so many weapons, and from the glimpses I got watching warmups I came away with the impression that there is a lot of talent yet to be showcased on the Amherst bench. By the way. Connor Green has a REALLY quick release!

--As previously noted by other posters, both games had below average refereeing.  In the Williams/Middlebury game, the smallest ref was awful, while the tall guy did a nice job. You can tell the refs that actually played competitive basketball...they usually have a very good feel for how to call a game.

--I thought the intensity level for both games was a credit to all of the players, and the commitment to defense by Middlebury and Williams in particular was thrilling to watch.  Both teams simply went after each other for 45 minutes.  We sometimes take for granted the effort that these players bring to every game in addition to their talent. Players of the day to my eyes were Workman, Wohl, Lynch and Palleschi.

--Two plays stuck with me on the drive home, neither of which affected the outcome. The first was a great hustle play by Kizel going out of bounds to save a ball in the second half. He was so quick, and instinctual, and just plain tough, all in a 3 second burst of athleticism and hustle.  He is a true warrior. The second was a good no call on a drive to the hoop in the first half by Robertson when one of the Middlebury guards did an Academy award flop. Kudos to the ref who swallowed his whistle on that one.  Might have been the small guy I criticized above!

--Hats off to the Middlebury hockey team for staying the entire second half to root on their basketball colleagues, and its coach for permitting this.

--With the exception of the Middlebury hockey team, the average age in the gym this afternoon was about 60.  Where were the Amherst students?  It's not unique to Amherst, but I find it dismaying that college students today don't support the college athletic teams save for 1 or 2 rivalry games a year.  I also yearn for the days of a pep band at the games rather than listening to rap songs during timeout, but I gave up on that one several years ago.  I'm sure the Amherst student body will turn out in droves tomorrow, which is commendable, but they should have been there today as well.  As always, Middlebury travelled well, and Tufts did not. I suspect you would have seen more students if today's games were played in Pepin.

--Finally, and here I will really show my age, what's up with Williams travelling to the game in black warmups rather than coats and ties? I thought the Ephs looked like slobs.  Tufts and Middlebury wore coats and ties, heck Palleschi even had a 3 piece suit on and one of the Middlebury players sported a dapper bow tie, and the Middlebury hockey team also looked particularly sharp in their coats and ties in a lax bros/GQ sort of way.  Coach Maker runs a great program, but you don't travel to the NESCAC championships in the sweats you walked home from practice in the night before. To make it worse, the sweats didn't contain a stitch of purple and from my seat didn't seem to have any reference to the college or the basketball team. 

Sorry for the length Thanks to all 4 teams for giving each school's alums and friends a great day of very competitive and spirited basketball today.  Let's hope each of the finalists has something left in the tank for tomorrow.