MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

Vandy74....fair warning......I join nescac1 (maybe a first here) ...to state that Amherst will NOT take their next opponent lightly.

Now where are the Midd. and Williams supporters' posts of their games ahead?  Expect Panthernation to come out with another treatise soon.  Have they gone to interview S. Jones and other team members?  Would not be surprised if they did.
Surely there will be a post by Frank U. on the matter....probably shorter in length if it arrives than either nescac1 or panthernation...do you not think?

[nescac1]

Having never seen the Ephs' next opponent, it's hard to know what to expect in the game.  They beat some very talented teams this year, including St. Mary's, Cabrini, and Virginia Wesleyan, so I imagine they will pose a big challenge. 

If the Ephs play as well as they did in the two games in the NESCAC championship weekend, I imagine they will be, at worst, highly competitive with any team in the country.  If, on the other hand, they play like they did in the two prior Amherst games, it could be a quick exit from the tournament.  Time will tell ...

[madzillagd]

Both teams played hard.

[Panthernation]

This year, by the way, the NESCAC sophomore class (in stark contrast to the very strong senior class and absolutely loaded junior class) is extremely weak.  Only Dan Wohl, Ben Ferris, Keegan Pieri, Graham Safford and Bryan Hurley appear to be guys who might eventually challenge for all-NESCAC honors from that group.  In fact, I'd be willing to bet that at least 4 of those 5 earn all-NESCAC before they are done, in part because of weak competition from their classmates.

Nescac1, you may be right that this is a weaker class than most, but you've forgotten to include Dylan Sinnickson (I think you wrote about him being one of your breakout sophomores earlier this year) and Hunter Merryman. No reason why Merryman can't be a better version of Taylor Barrise. Merryman, in his first year playing rotation minutes, averaged 9 points per game on 51/45/79 shooting. Barrise's senior year numbers were 10.5 points on 47/47/84 shooting.

[lefrakenstein]

This year, by the way, the NESCAC sophomore class (in stark contrast to the very strong senior class and absolutely loaded junior class) is extremely weak.  Only Dan Wohl, Ben Ferris, Keegan Pieri, Graham Safford and Bryan Hurley appear to be guys who might eventually challenge for all-NESCAC honors from that group.  In fact, I'd be willing to bet that at least 4 of those 5 earn all-NESCAC before they are done, in part because of weak competition from their classmates.

Nescac1, you may be right that this is a weaker class than most, but you've forgotten to include Dylan Sinnickson (I think you wrote about him being one of your breakout sophomores earlier this year) and Hunter Merryman. No reason why Merryman can't be a better version of Taylor Barrise. Merryman, in his first year playing rotation minutes, averaged 9 points per game on 51/45/79 shooting. Barrise's senior year numbers were 10.5 points on 47/47/84 shooting.

Barrise never made an all-NESCAC team though. I think nescac1's point was that there don't seem to be a lot of all-NESCAC caliber players in the sophomore class. That said, Merryman could, as you say, end up being better than Barrise, and I would definitely put him in the same class as Pieri/Safford/Hurley. Sinnickson also looked great earlier in the year. I would also throw Papadeas of Trinity and Swords of Bowdoin into that mix. Still, even with all those guys making big strides, I'd say '15 is still not looking like a great vintage.


Unless somebody comes out of nowhere, that is a completely lost class for Amherst. Keeping my fingers crossed that Barry will still pan out.

[Panthernation]

Something I didn't realize until just reading the write up about Nolan winning the Defensive Player of the Year award on Middlebury's athletics site: Nolan is the fourth Middlebury player to win the Defensive Player of the Year award in the past five years. A reflection on what kind of team Jeff Brown has built, and pretty incredible.

[Panthernation]

http://d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2013/tournament-preview

Pat Coleman picks Amherst to win national championship.

[Vandy74]

http://d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2013/tournament-preview

Pat Coleman picks Amherst to win national championship.

Pat,

I have no problem with this pick.  Amherst impresses the bijesus out of me but  I do believe that given the opportunity Middlebury can beat them but my real question involves Springfield going to the Sweet 16.  In the brief time I've been reading the board I've come to respect your sports acumen.  I really just want to know if it is a gut feeling or something more that has Springfield rather than the Panthers progressing to the Sweet Round.  Springfield and Middlebury have several common opponents and the results of those games, with the exception of Springfield's upset of the Lord Jeffs point to a Panther superiority.   Middlebury easily handled Keene St., winning by 28.  Springfield won by 3.  Midd beat Castleton ( I repeat, Castleton ) by 16 in an orchestrated stall game format while Springfield won 74-70.  Springfield lost to Williams 84-69.  Now I know Springfield finished strong going 2-1 against both MIT and WPI.   Is that the simple answer?   Hey, I learned how to handicap the horses when I was 8 years old.  My dad was the attorney for a horse track in the south western part of the state owned by the Rooney's, who also own a football team you all may have seen play a few times in the Superbowl.  I quickly realized that sometimes the thing to do was throw away the program and just watch the horses when they came out onto the track.  To me it was obvious who had come to win and who was just getting their exercise in that day.  I have that same gut feeling with the Panthers.   They're hungry and there're pissed.  Now I have a sister-in-law who is the coach of Middlebury's women's lacrosse team.  She is Springfield class of '74.  So if you're correct at least she will be happy and life will be easier for my brother.  But if your choice is based on something pithier then a menopausal urge to "dig deep" I'd be interested in knowing what it is. 

[WPI89]

Wow - "pithier than a menopausal urge to dig deep"....................

I know I want to do something to your karma for about 30 days in a row - I am just not sure if I want to add to it or subtract?

[Charles]

http://d3hoops.com/playoffs/men/2013/tournament-preview

Pat Coleman picks Amherst to win national championship.

Pat,

I have no problem with this pick.  Amherst impresses the bijesus out of me but  I do believe that given the opportunity Middlebury can beat them but my real question involves Springfield going to the Sweet 16.  In the brief time I've been reading the board I've come to respect your sports acumen.  I really just want to know if it is a gut feeling or something more that has Springfield rather than the Panthers progressing to the Sweet Round.  Springfield and Middlebury have several common opponents and the results of those games, with the exception of Springfield's upset of the Lord Jeffs point to a Panther superiority.   Middlebury easily handled Keene St., winning by 28.  Springfield won by 3.  Midd beat Castleton ( I repeat, Castleton ) by 16 in an orchestrated stall game format while Springfield won 74-70.  Springfield lost to Williams 84-69.  Now I know Springfield finished strong going 2-1 against both MIT and WPI.   Is that the simple answer?   Hey, I learned how to handicap the horses when I was 8 years old.  My dad was the attorney for a horse track in the south western part of the state owned by the Rooney's, who also own a football team you all may have seen play a few times in the Superbowl.  I quickly realized that sometimes the thing to do was throw away the program and just watch the horses when they came out onto the track.  To me it was obvious who had come to win and who was just getting their exercise in that day.  I have that same gut feeling with the Panthers.   They're hungry and there're pissed.  Now I have a sister-in-law who is the coach of Middlebury's women's lacrosse team.  She is Springfield class of '74.  So if you're correct at least she will be happy and life will be easier for my brother.  But if your choice is based on something pithier then a menopausal urge to "dig deep" I'd be interested in knowing what it is.

I too thought that Middlebury had the easiest path to sweet 16 in the whole bracket but their SOS is alot higher than Springfields', maybe that was why Pat thought that Springfield has played tougher teams? Not sure why they're so pissed though.

[WPI89]

Wow - "pithier than a menopausal urge to dig deep"....................

I know I want to do something to your karma for about 30 days in a row - I am just not sure if I want to add to it or subtract?

Vandy - after re-reading your post - taking into account the perfect grammar, unique "phraseology", factual info, and passion (along with some friends in high places) - it is a no-brainer to start adding K's to your account.  Please keep the wit coming!

[amh63]

Just opened up this board after reading my morning paper and drinking my coffee for the day.....wow, an eye opening post.
Vandy....how many cups did you have this morning?   Pat C. was just posting his opinion.  The tournament is not fixed by Pat C.  Using your horse racing story....maybe it was gut feeling or something.  Have you ever gone to the "pig races" in Montana?  I did with a bunch of Amherst Alumni.  I bet on a pig's number and even the Amherst colors on a pig.  One pig with my favorite number AND colors came out of the gate and started to run backwards!   True experience.
Your belief in the Panthers will help them.  I too hope they will reach the final 8 and be in Salem....where Midd. can meet Amherst again....on a neutral court.
Relax....enjoy the games.  Wait till Salem where you can yell at me and the LJs.  Guess that is what you are really angry about, I think.

[grabtherim]

All the talk of Sweet 16s and Salem is very funny.  A gentle reminder to everyone, there are a few games to be played to get to those contests.  In this tournament especially at the D3 Level no 1st round game should be taken lightly.  It appears that many posters have given the Panthers a W against Curry.  Big mistake.  The good news is I know Coach Brown, his staff and the players will not be assuming that the Curry players or coaches will be an easy mark as so many here do. 

[madzillagd]

Since the Midd posters are too nervous to talk about their trouncing of Curry tomorrow  and the Jeffs are sunning themselves by the pool this week, here's an article on advanced stats that I found very interesting. 

http://mobile.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2013/02/nba_stats_gurus_can_t_work_together_anymore_that_s_a_problem.html?original_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F2lMTwABOC8

Pretty amazing to think of what they are capturing using the SportVU system and how that will impact the game for those clubs in the upcoming years. 

[amh63]

Madz.....nice stuff and all....but to make sense out of all that data and to project it to coaching and training, etc.  Reminds me of the hopes of researchers at MIT to see if they could apply their theories of man's brain patterns to computer designs, codes, etc.  Almost 40 years of nothing...my opinion here..better efforts/results in the genetic areas. 
In any case, wonder if our man, Walzy, at Sloan will attend the conference this weekend.  Maybe....class credit Walzy?
Thanks!