MBB: NESCAC

madzillagd · November 06, 2013, 11:51:34 AM

P'Bear - Is the entire Bowdoin roster posted? I noticed there were only 13 players on the roster which does include 2 freshmen so I'm assuming that's the full squad. Pretty low number to start the year and if Hurley is out already they are going to be pretty thin.

http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/mbkb/2013-14/roster

P'bearfan · November 06, 2013, 12:48:07 PM

QuoteP'Bear - Is the entire Bowdoin roster posted? I noticed there were only 13 players on the roster which does include 2 freshmen so I'm assuming that's the full squad. Pretty low number to start the year and if Hurley is out already they are going to be pretty thin.

http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/mbkb/2013-14/roster

Yes that's the full roster.

Coming into the year Bowdoin expected to have 15 players but one senior who didn't have much playing time decided not to continue with the team and one of the ED recruits decided to take a post-grad year - at Loomis Chaffee I think but they haven't posted their roster.

Depth is definitely going to be a challenge this year.

middhoops · November 06, 2013, 01:16:15 PM

Middlebury roster is now up.

http://www.middlebury.edu/athletics/sports/mensbasketball/roster

nescac1 · November 06, 2013, 02:32:01 PM

Wow, 19 guys, that is a big roster for Midd ... lots of good players will have to ride the pine this year. Seems like Roberts, Jensen, Merryman, Sinnickson, and Kizell are all locks for PT and likely the eventual starting five. Bullock and Brierley are veterans who have both been in the rotation in the past when healthy, and I know Midd folks have been very high on Daley and Prendergast. That's a nine-man rotation right there. Maybe one of the frosh guards, Brown or St. Amour, if not senior sparkplug Luis Alvarez, squeezes in as well, and Churchill as a back-up big guy until Jensen is healthy, but the rest of the guys might be on the outside looking in ...

jayhawk · November 06, 2013, 02:35:20 PM

to continue the theme Tufts roster on line
With absence of Palleschi, Hunter Sabety will likely start and be a prime candidate for ROY
Even id Palleschi was on team Sabety would have gotten playing time

Old Guy · November 06, 2013, 03:21:12 PM

Coming into the year Bowdoin expected to have 15 players but one senior who didn't have much playing time decided not to continue with the team and one of the ED recruits decided to take a post-grad year - at Loomis Chaffee I think but they haven't posted their roster.

Depth is definitely going to be a challenge this year. P'bearfan

Maybe, maybe not. You can only play five at a time. If 8-10 are players (and they can stay away from injuries/illness), they may be fine. Hurley's status is key. Time will tell. Often there are surprises: I think of Middlebury's hoop turnaround, first with Frosh Ben Rudin starting at point guard in 2006, and then in 2010 with two frosh starting in the backcourt - Thompson/Wolfin. How'd that work out? Eight pretty good years of backcourt play.

Middlebury also has a depth problem: how to keep happy those talented players not playing much in games, especially if the success of the team in the early going is not what it has been in the recent past.

Midd has benefited from senior leadership and team chemistry and they'll need it again this year. Returning players will have to maintain/establish a tone.

The return of Kyle Dudley as an assistant coach could be a positive factor. He was a high school running mate of Rudin and a valuable player on the 2004-2008 Panther teams. He's a delightful, energetic person whom I think younger players will really respond to.

Midd's young assistant coaches, Arlen Galloway 2009-10; 2010-11 (now head coach at Wentworth after two years at Cornell) and Alex Popp 2011-12; 2012=13 (now director of basketball operations at Holy Cross) certainly made a significant contribution to the success of the team in recent years. Dudley comes with enthusiastic backing and big shoes to fill.

middhoops · November 06, 2013, 03:58:23 PM

It could be a frustrating year for some experienced Middlebury players. It's looking like two freshmen may get rotational playing time. Daley may well be ready to be tough match-up scorer. Sinnickson looks like he's going to be an athletic beast.
The best way to get on the floor for Jeff Brown is to be a stopper. That may make Matt St. Amour an anomaly. He scores too well to leave on the bench too much.

grabtherim · November 06, 2013, 04:01:26 PM

Big roster or small roster is not a problem as long as the winning ways continue. Hard for a sitting player (or helicopter parent) to gripe when the Ws keep coming. If things dont go well, the good feelings on any team change quickly as those not playing and their supporters figure they might as well see if they can win with them. Over Midd's recent run, Brown has been willing to get freshman like Kizel, Thompson and Wolfin involved, and it paid off for the Panthers. Even with the loss of three strong seniors, if Midd gets one or two of the new guys in the rotation along with the mix they have returning, they will be as deep as anyone. Practices will be intense to get those minutes.

Quote from: nescac1 on November 06, 2013, 02:32:01 PM
Wow, 19 guys, that is a big roster for Midd ... lots of good players will have to ride the pine this year. Seems like Roberts, Jensen, Merryman, Sinnickson, and Kizell are all locks for PT and likely the eventual starting five. Bullock and Brierley are veterans who have both been in the rotation in the past when healthy, and I know Midd folks have been very high on Daley and Prendergast. That's a nine-man rotation right there. Maybe one of the frosh guards, Brown or St. Amour, if not senior sparkplug Luis Alvarez, squeezes in as well, and Churchill as a back-up big guy until Jensen is healthy, but the rest of the guys might be on the outside looking in ...

P'bearfan · November 06, 2013, 07:26:18 PM

QuoteWow, 19 guys, that is a big roster for Midd ...

In addition to the potential issue of playing time that nescac1 raised, I'm just wondering how you run a practice. 19 is a tough number - too many on one hand and not enough on the other (i.e. you can't run 3 squads for scrimmages). I'm sure the coaches deal with it just fine; it just seems....akward

dman · November 06, 2013, 08:11:34 PM

just noticed this and will have to verify, but it appears that middlebury is without a travel partner this year. williams and hamilton appear to be traveling together. now makes me wonder if every school is going to take a turn at this........

Old Guy · November 07, 2013, 07:17:20 AM

Sinnickson is an interesting player. His frosh year he gave indications of his vast potential, then he lost all of last year to injury. No question, he's a "beast." But is he a basketball player? We've yet to find that out. He loves the game. Can he harness those physical gifts to meet the prerequisites of the game? Is the Williamson example apt here?

One of the many absorbing questions, dramas, of this year's Midd squad.

maineman · November 07, 2013, 09:07:53 AM

Quote from: dman on November 06, 2013, 08:11:34 PM
just noticed this and will have to verify, but it appears that middlebury is without a travel partner this year. williams and hamilton appear to be traveling together. now makes me wonder if every school is going to take a turn at this........

Each team in NESCAC gets to solo once every 10 years.

lumbercat · November 07, 2013, 10:02:39 AM

Maineman-
Thanks for posting. Forgive my ignorance as primarily a NESCAC football guy but can someone explain about these travel guidelines and solo vs. partners etc....?

amh63 · November 07, 2013, 10:37:33 AM

A post with more questions than info. First, do not expect any meaningful Amherst preview and roster info until the football season completes.
There was a concern posted earlier on the shortness of Bowdoin's roster. In my review of roster info, I noted that Williams' roster had only 14 players last year. Old Guy is correct, as usual, to note that the key to most teams is to select a 8-9 player rotation and avoid injuries to have a good season.
Read online somewhere that new rules this year are causing concerns among Div 1 coaches based on early exhibition games. There are high number of fouls being called..so many, that coaches are thinking about using more zone defense, practice changes, etc. maybe depth will be more of a concern this year. Rules affect hand checking, rough play and require players to use there feet more on defense. Any thoughts of the new rules in Div 3...in conf. Play?

middhoops · November 07, 2013, 12:00:18 PM

In the early preseason, teams are really struggling with the new hand check rules. Here is a good article describing the problem.
http://www.foxsportsmidwest.com/story/NCAAs-new-hand-check-rule-isnt-having-qu?blockID=958975&feedID=8745

Here in the NESCAC it means that you better have five bigs who can play clean man-up D if they're not all going to foul out against Mayer. Wish they'd had this rule when Sharry and Lynch were around.