MBB: NESCAC

[toad22]

Panthernation, that may be the most amazing piece of work I've ever seen on this board. You went all out. It was interesting, and I assume that this means that you believe that you have a great team coming back. If so, the upcoming year might be a a great one in the NESCAC. Amherst seems to be reloading very effectively. Of course, Amherst doesn't really need to reload, so they will, once again, be a force. Williams is absolutely loaded, and Tufts would seem to be ready to make a move. I like the talent at Bowdoin, and several others (Colby, Hamilton especially), are maturing. The conference seems to be improving. It wouldn't surprise me at all if a NESCAC team or two ends up in the final four again.

Williams should have talent enough to make a strong run at the NESCAC championship and beyond. I don't exactly know who Mayer and Epley remind me of, but I do believe Williams has only rarely had two such good scorers in the same class. When Williams can average in the 80s for the year, they generally make the final four. This team should average in the 80s. They should be the best, or at worst, the second best shooting team in the history of Williams. If Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, and Tufts, and maybe others, are all at the top of their games, we will have a really exciting year ahead of us.

[Panthernation]

Panthernation, that may be the most amazing piece of work I've ever seen on this board. You went all out. It was interesting, and I assume that this means that you believe that you have a great team coming back.

Thank you, toad22, for reading and for the kind words. It was a lot of fun to write.

As for our confidence it Middlebury next season, I would hesitate to call the 2013-14 Panthers great from where we stand now. The team has a ton of pieces, maybe more than ever, but losing that senior trio and the consistent excellence that they brought to the starting line-up will hurt. The team has one bona fide guard in Kizel and a lot of question marks behind him, which is concerning. If some of them emerge as starter-caliber players (most likely candidates: Pendergast and the freshmen), and Jeff Brown finds a way to utilize his core of talented 3-4 combo guys (Jensen, Merryman, Sinnickson, Daley), then this team could be exciting to watch. But it's going to be different, it wouldn't be surprising if they take a step back, and there will definitely be more growing pains than we're used to as they try to turn the parts into a whole.

And it's going to be a tough year to do that. Williams should be pretty amazing, and Amherst should be great too. If the freshmen come close to as advertised, the same will be true for Tufts.

[Vandy74]

Panthernation, that may be the most amazing piece of work I've ever seen on this board. You went all out. It was interesting, and I assume that this means that you believe that you have a great team coming back.

Thank you, toad22, for reading and for the kind words. It was a lot of fun to write.

As for our confidence it Middlebury next season, I would hesitate to call the 2013-14 Panthers great from where we stand now. The team has a ton of pieces, maybe more than ever, but losing that senior trio and the consistent excellence that they brought to the starting line-up will hurt. The team has one bona fide guard in Kizel and a lot of question marks behind him, which is concerning. If some of them emerge as starter-caliber players (most likely candidates: Pendergast and the freshmen), and Jeff Brown finds a way to utilize his core of talented 3-4 combo guys (Jensen, Merryman, Sinnickson, Daley), then this team could be exciting to watch. But it's going to be different, it wouldn't be surprising if they take a step back, and there will definitely be more growing pains than we're used to as they try to turn the parts into a whole.

And it's going to be a tough year to do that. Williams should be pretty amazing, and Amherst should be great too. If the freshmen come close to as advertised, the same will be true for Tufts.

I'd normally read this, nod in agreement and move on, but I received what basically is this same post in an email from Middhoops yesterday morning.  Special mention of Pendergast and Daley. the incredible depth the team will have, as well as the observation that with all they have going for them the Panthers could still find themselves on the chasing end of a four horse race.  They'll just have to make up for it come tournament time.

The Panthers could well evolve by season's end into a team like North Central was.  NCC went nine deep in players who had scored in double figures on more than one occasion.   Only one hadn't done it at least three times.  And, the bottom four in the group had most of their high scoring games in the last third of the season.  We fans will have to put up with some growing pains but by tournament time Middlebury should be a team that grows more dangerous with each game.  If winter weather wasn't part of the package I'd wish the season started tomorrow.   

[P'bearfan]

As for our confidence it Middlebury next season, I would hesitate to call the 2013-14 Panthers great from where we stand now. The team has a ton of pieces,

I think there's little doubt that Amherst, Williams and Midd should be at the top of the conference next year.  It's the next group that get's interesting.  Tufts does seem poised to make a move, but I think Bowdoin is really interesting. 

Similar to PN's assessment of Midd, Bowdoin seems to have all the right pieces with Hurley, Pieri and Swords as the core.  If a couple of the freshmen step up and contribute early they could be tough.  In theory Bowdoin could put a line up on the floor where only 1 player is below 6'-6" (5:Swords - 7'; 4:Hewitt - 6'-7"; 3:Fuller - 6'-6";2: Pieri  - 6'-6"; 1: Hurley - 5'-10").  Not saying they'll do that but it's interesting to contemplate.

[Panthernation]

As for our confidence it Middlebury next season, I would hesitate to call the 2013-14 Panthers great from where we stand now. The team has a ton of pieces,

I think there's little doubt that Amherst, Williams and Midd should be at the top of the conference next year.  It's the next group that get's interesting.  Tufts does seem poised to make a move, but I think Bowdoin is really interesting. 

Similar to PN's assessment of Midd, Bowdoin seems to have all the right pieces with Hurley, Pieri and Swords as the core.  If a couple of the freshmen step up and contribute early they could be tough.  In theory Bowdoin could put a line up on the floor where only 1 player is below 6'-6" (5:Swords - 7'; 4:Hewitt - 6'-7"; 3:Fuller - 6'-6";2: Pieri  - 6'-6"; 1: Hurley - 5'-10").  Not saying they'll do that but it's interesting to contemplate.

Williams is in a similar position. Their rotation is going to be huge: Mayer 6'10, Epley 6'4, Wohl 6'6, Robinson 6'7, McCreary 6'5, Kilcullen 6'7, Weinheimer 6'6

[nescac1]

Williams does have a few smaller candidates for the rotation in Rooke-Ley (6'1), Greenman (5'8) and Thoreson (6'3), at least two of whom will probably be in the point guard mix, but yeah, the Ephs should be enormous next year at the 2/3/4/5.  I imagine that Wohl, Weinheimer and Robinson will get the majority of time at the 2/3 positions, where they will have a big size advantage (sort of like the Amherst wings did last year) over anyone who guards them.  Of course, those are all perimeter-oriented guys and with Mayer and Epley getting all the post touches, they may not have a chance to exploit their size on offense.  On defense, though, if Williams plays a lot of zone again it could be very, very interesting -- shooting over, for example, a Wohl/Weinheimer/Epley/Mayer/McCreary line-up would not be easy.  In all events, it's a nice problem for Coach Maker to have to figure this all out, as opposed to last year when the Ephs couldn't offer a lot of divergent looks due to the lack of depth. 

I do think the top half of NESCAC is absolutely loaded next year, as you'd expect from a league that returns the defending champ and two other Elite 8 teams.  Amherst loses the most but has tons of potential break-out players on the roster (Sanderson, Buckner, Mussachia, Barry if he can ever get healthy), plus the huge frosh class to draw from.  And Green should be a 20 ppg guy sooner rather than later.  I, like most others here it seems, think it will be a toss-up between Williams, Amherst and Midd, as has so often been the case in recent years, with Tufts just a half tick behind and Bowdoin the dark horse if a few things break right for them. 

But NESCAC is not alone.  CCIW and WIAC, for example, each feature several top-tier teams that return all or virtually all of their key pieces.  The top ten in D-3 is going to be a bear next season. 

[amh63]

Good stuff on the board in only the 2nd week of Summer...inspired by Panthernation! ....Still posting very early in the morning.
Toad....congrats to the first post on page 1000!
Surprised a little here with the sophisticated posters focusing on the length of the returning players.
I say this when the top teams in the conference over the years have been "led" by great guards/backcourts.  Watching the games in the post season of the "CAC" teams, I was struck by the fact that the majority of the key players of opponents were not the biggest, tallest, etc.  they were just Players and came in all sizes...mainly in the 2/3 positions. In the case of Amherst, guards like Connor Green, Allen Williamson being around 6'4", played like power forwards at times...as did Killian,  getting rebounds and blocking shots.  One too often forget that Kalema and Toomey got rebounds and drove the lanes, etc......much like Nate Robertson and Wang of Williams.
Anyway, recent posts here have caused me to return from the football boards.

[old_hooper]

The huge question for Williams is replacing Robertson.  By coach Maker own admission, that as he would go so would the Ephs.  No one on the roster got minutes or was the confidence from the coach to spell Robertson last year. The PG position has proven year after year that it is such a key position to be a contender in the league.  You know that Mayer, Epley and Wohl will be the primary scorers.  you will have to get the ball in their hands to score.  It will be interesting to see what Coach Maker has up his sleeve to fill the void.  With that said, Amherst, Bowdoin and Tufts have that position secured.  The zone will not come as a surprise to anyone next year and you beat it with ball movement to create the open shot.  Williams will be very good but how good will depend on the development of someone replacing Robertson.

[toad22]

At least initially, Rooke-Ley will be Robertson's replacement. He played very well, mostly off the bench in his first two years. He was hurt all last year, but should come in healthy for his junior year. Mike Greenman, a freshman of high potential, or Luke Thoreson, a sophomore, will likely back up. Daniel Wohl will probably play the other guard spot, and take over much of the burden of running the offense. Given the fact that Williams really runs a two guard offense, I'm not overly worried about the loss of Robertson.

[Old Guy]

Middlebury had 10 players 6'6" or taller on their roster this year, with all but Lynch returning. We had some years when we had no one 6'6". In crunchtime, however, Midd went small.

What the Panthers must replace this year is the 1) heart, 2) poise, and 3) character that was lost to graduation. The talent is there.

[grabtherim]

Middlebury had 10 players 6'6" or taller on their roster this year, with all but Lynch returning. We had some years when we had no one 6'6". In crunchtime, however, Midd went small.

What the Panthers must replace this year is the 1) heart, 2) poise, and 3) character that was lost to graduation. The talent is there.

Each year every team fears replacing what they leaned on to succeed, and Middlebury 13/14 is no different.  Think about it, many felt the same way when Rudin, Edwards, Locke, Wholey, Davis and Sharry left during Midd's 5 year basketball makeover.  While this group had all the attributes Old Guy details, the foundation is set and new arrivals come to a campus with a basketball expectation and history versus one where hoops was an afterthought.  I think they will be solid this coming season as soon as they figure out the combinations.  It may take a while, but they could become more dangerous as the season wears on. 

[P'bearfan]

Surprised a little here with the sophisticated posters focusing on the length of the returning players.
I say this when the top teams in the conference over the years have been "led" by great guards/backcourts.  Watching the games in the post season of the "CAC" teams, I was struck by the fact that the majority of the key players of opponents were not the biggest, tallest, etc.  they were just Players and came in all sizes...mainly in the 2/3 positions.

Interesting point about the size of "Players".  Again this is where I think Bowdoin could be interesting / dangerous next year.  The combination of Hurley and Pieri fits right into the model amh63 mentions.  Hurley averaged 8 assists per game last season.  If the freshman bigs can contribute this will allow Pieri to play the 2 where he will be a very difficult matchup.  Two keys - everyone needs to stay healthy and one of the other PG needs to have a real break out year so that the offense keeps flowing when Hurley is on the bench. 

[jayhawk]

Just wanted to provide praise for Middlebury and Jeff Brown. Locke, Sharry, and Lynch - none of these guys were big time high school stars.
All of them developed to become all NESCAC -- definitely a quality program that develops players and play at a very high level

[amh63]

Old time New England posters may enjoy the list of honorees to at his year's New England Basketball Hall of Fame event that will be held in Worchester, Ma. On June 22.  Three NESCAC head coaches will be honored...two from Bowdoin!. the Polar Bears lead the conference with 5 inductees. 
Shows how many great coaches have developed players in the conference.
I got to the site via the Bowdoin athletic site...not good in making the connection.   

[maineman]

Old time New England posters may enjoy the list of honorees to at his year's New England Basketball Hall of Fame event that will be held in Worchester, Ma. On June 22.  Three NESCAC head coaches will be honored...two from Bowdoin!. the Polar Bears lead the conference with 5 inductees. 
Shows how many great coaches have developed players in the conference.
I got to the site via the Bowdoin athletic site...not good in making the connection.

Could this be "will be held on July 22" or was it already held on June 22?