MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

grabtherim, sheesh, you are COMPLETELY missing the point.  They won ONE game last year.  ONE.   They are almost certainly not going to make it to Salem, they are not an elite team or anything, but I am confident they will win over 20 games given the schedule they play.  The roster is I believe 100 percent different from last year and the new coach has done a great job organizing them to be a very competitive-looking squad, very quickly.  That is quite simply an incredible story.  It's not a factor of "daring" to beat a very good Williams team, it's more a factor of looking at where they were at the end of last season, and how quickly the coach had turned things around. 

[Old Guy]

-Swords had a very solid game - playing 31 minutes and finishing with a double double (11 pts and 13 rebounds).  He could have scored even more if Bowdoin was more effective in feeding him the ball when he got position down low. P'Bearfan

Swords' line is interesting and positive: last year he averaged 15 minutes a game - he played 31 yesterday, only took seven shots but made four; of his 13 rebounds 4 were offensive; 4 blocks, only three fouls. Clearly, he's a presence teams will have to account for. The only problem I see is that he was a Locke-ian 3 of 8 from the line. Teams may choose to hack him if he gets the ball low. First game - who knows, but a good opening night performance for P'Bear fans.

Bates' game was so one-sided, nothing much could be gleaned. Hart seemed to be most of Hamilton's offense: 24 points on 9-17 shooting (3-10 from three); no assists. Newton (13 pts, 6 assists) had a nice game.

Trinity had nice balance in a one-point win. Hudnut for Colby had 21 and 8 with two blocks (and a three). Sabety for Tufts came off the bench to play 13 minutes in a laugher, but had 17 points on 6-8 from the floor, 5-6 from the line, 2 blocks in limited time.

For Wes, Rashid Epps had 17 rebounds in a ten point win (to go with 15 points). Glen Thomas only had one bucket in ten minutes and one rebound - 4 fouls probably tells the story. Rafferty played what would appear to be ten solid minutes: 8 points (2-2 from three; 2 assists, 3 rebounds).

[Panthernation]

Our reflections on last night and a short preview of Baruch: http://sites.middlebury.edu/panthernation/

[old_hooper]

Amherst up by 25 with 8 minutes to go.  Big game from the backcourt, Green and David George is everything advertised. Sounds like he will end up with double double off the bench.  Interesting that Sanderson or Levine (injuries?) did not play up to this point and no other frosh also.  Homer announcer comments were interesting at half, they said the Brooklyn players were better players than Amherst.  Can't help but think of the comments made last year about Kalema should start over Toomey.

[lefrakenstein]

Amherst up by 25 with 8 minutes to go.  Big game from the backcourt, Green and David George is everything advertised. Sounds like he will end up with double double off the bench.  Interesting that Sanderson or Levine (injuries?) did not play up to this point and no other frosh also.  Homer announcer comments were interesting at half, they said the Brooklyn players were better players than Amherst.  Can't help but think of the comments made last year about Kalema should start over Toomey.

Got to go to game this afternoon. It was great to see the team in person for the opener. David George looks like he will be a force. He looks far more physically developed than most young bigs that play D3. I only saw him shoot a few times, but it looks like has nice form. Green looks like he might have put on some muscle in the off-season, and he attacked the rim repeatedly, most notably on a thunderous near-dunk late in the second half. He has come a long way from being the one-dimensional three-point gunner he was in the early-to-middle part of last year.

Sanderson did enter the game late, after Nabatoff, so he might not be as high on the center depth chart as some posters have supposed. Also, Ray Barry was on the bench, so he might be with the team after all. Buckner was not in attendance however.

[Clutch]

I can certainly see why the nations elite is up here in hoops, compliments to all of you knowledgeable posters who truly know the game, makes the sport , season, and analytical discussions much more interesting and relevant.   Not to mention the beautiful country up there in the winter.....those Vermont chili fest sure smell good up there too.

[Bucket]

Not a lot of defense in first half of Midd-Baruch: 53-45 Panthers.

A lot of fouls called though, which is the theme this year. Both teams end the half in double-bonus, Baruch reaching double bonus w/9 minutes left to play in the first 20. Baruch making the most of the situation—they're 14-17 from the line. Panthers shooting well from the stripe (7-9), just far fewer opportunities.

Midd's points are coming from long range (8-14 from 3) and some easy inside looks. On the other end, Baruch bigs are having a field day in the paint. Granville Gittens with 15 first-half points.

Midd's going to need to tighten up defensively, especially in the paint, to come away victorious; can't rely on staying so hot from long-range. Transition favors Midd as well, though foul trouble may affect depth in the second half.

Another thing we know—fouls are going to be called, so the team that's able to make the most of these opportunities wwill have an advantage, as well.

[Clutch]

Gittens will get MVP but Midds pg is always something.

[maineman]

Does anyone know what happened to Liam Langaas from Trinity?  He would be a sophomore this year.  Did he transfer, fail to go out for the team or not make it this year?

[amh63]

Spent the day in Annapolis, MD while my wife was at a convention of sorts.  Wasted too much money on books, etc.....books on boats are still cheaper than the boats in the water   Did get to hear the audio of the 2nd half of the Amherst game.  Amherst led by 17 at the half and was up by as high as 29 in the 2nd when Conner Green and Aaron Toomey started to hit the outside 3's.  The announcers basically stated that Amherst was playing like a team while Brooklyn players were playing like it was a street game.  Praise for Aaron.  Green scored 11 quick points early in the 2nd half which surprised the announcers.  Sanderson got the last two points and the last 3 rebounds it seems as Coach Dixon emptied the bench.
My take is Sanderson has played with the returnees and was held back to see how the newer front court players worked with the starters....except for George who was put in to stop some of Brooklyn's aggressive front court players after Pollack got into foul trouble.  Guess, the two big in the front court at the same time is not going to happen....not in this first game when Amherst controlled the boards....according to the announcers since I have not seen the boxscore. 
Caught the last few minutes of the Midd game....before dinner.  Wanted to look for Vandy and Middhoops in the stands Did not happen.  Figured it would be easy...two guys in shades....too much partying after the game, me thinks. Lancaster is a nice place to have a party....just stay away from the Amish women guys....you are not Harrison Ford.

Hoop Fan....Nescac1 and I talked about going up to Stevenson for at least one game...the Midd vs St.Mary's game?  Thinking hard about it and it depends if my wife does not have other plans for me.  Have not seen the new facility in the 2nd campus where the sport complex is located...once the Balt. Ravens practice area, I believe.
Comment....if Williams had played at home...they may have won the game.  In a sense, it was an away game in Williams' tournament....strange to state it that way.

[middhoops]

Vandy and I saw both games at the Franklin & Marshall tournament.  Poor F&M lost both games as Alvernia beat them in OT.  Horribly inconsistent if evenly heinous officiating. 
Baruch gave Midd all they could handle.  Horribly inconsistent officiating, constant whistles.  The Panthers won 96-89.  Middlebury typically gives up 55-60 points against out of conference opponents.
Make no mistake, Middlebury can and will score this season.  So many weapons:  Kizel, Daley, Sinnickson and Merryman are going to put up numbers all year. St. Amour will increase his scoring slowly.
Coach Jeff Brown must be anxiously awaiting the return of James Jensen and freshman Jake Brown, two outstanding defenders.  In the F&M tournament, the Panthers looked like other blocking shots their defense was akin to bullfighting.  It has to get better as there is no other choice.  Jeff Brown teams play defense.  Eventually this one will, too.

The refs and players are trying to adapt to the new rules.  These games were not artistic gems.  At the end of the Baruch game, most fans were as happy it was over as they were that Middlebury won.   Looks like a deep bench is a real necessity until officials, coaches and players adapt to recent rule changes.

[John Gleich]

SVT is a really great story and if I were not an Eph fan I would be very excited for them -- the coach is clearly going to be very good and it is amazing how many really talented players he convinced to come to a program that was maybe the worst in D-3 last year, and also most of them are at a TINY rural school far from home.  Just an epic recruiting job. NESCAC 1

From 2002-2004 Southern Vermont had three very successful seasons (57-29) under a coach named Ryan Marks. They were 3-22 the year before he came and 2-21 the year after he left. In 2003, they went 24-6 and made an NCAA tournament appearance. They defeated Middlebury teams in close games in two of those three years. They haven't had much luck since then (though they were 16-11 in 2011), bottoming out recently.

Marks has a Wikipedia page: he went from SoVT to D2 St. Edwards (Austin, Texas) for five successful years, followed by five relatively unsuccessful years at Texas-Pan American. He is in his first year as head coach at St. Francis of Illinois, an NAIA school.

Marks got absolutely hosed by UTPA. National CBB commentators sounded off last year after he got fired.

He took a program that was under probation academically and had zero tradition or success on the D-I level and got them in a sound place academically and got them to .500 last year... and then he got the boot. One of my college teammates (who Williams fans would remember) Nick Bennett was an assistant there and got the boot as well.

Nick found his way back to Wisconsin and is an assistant at UW Whitewater.  Marks also has roots in Illinois (his mother still lives in Chicago).

[grabtherim]

So I guess I am missing the point when the team about to make the biggest turnaround in history lost by ten the next day.   Was Lebron playing for Rutgers Newark to stop the turnaround in its tracks?  Or did you over react to a big time upset and then tell me I missed the point for calling you out on it? Sheesh, the season is not even 48 hours old. Plenty of time for rational thought to figure things out versus kneejerk reactions off of one game.  At some point, this story may well be incredible but to call it that after one game albeit a huge upset is ridiculous. 

grabtherim, sheesh, you are COMPLETELY missing the point.  They won ONE game last year.  ONE.   They are almost certainly not going to make it to Salem, they are not an elite team or anything, but I am confident they will win over 20 games given the schedule they play.  The roster is I believe 100 percent different from last year and the new coach has done a great job organizing them to be a very competitive-looking squad, very quickly.  That is quite simply an incredible story.  It's not a factor of "daring" to beat a very good Williams team, it's more a factor of looking at where they were at the end of last season, and how quickly the coach had turned things around.

[nescac1]

grabtherim, yeah, SVT had a letdown today, but I'd be willing to put money that they will have an approximately 18 to 20-win turnaround from last year.  They play a terrible schedule, in a terrible league, and despite that, they only won a single game last year.  They are going to be, based on what I have seen (and I've watched a fair amount of D3 hoops over the years), a team that wins the bulks of its games in its league.  I honestly didn't see a lot of difference in talent between them and Alvernia.   I never said they were an elite team.  But they are a good team, and to go from perhaps the worst team in the country to a very solid team capable of beating a team like Williams is, indeed, an incredible turnaround story.  Because trust me, although they played poorly last night, Williams is a damn good team, better than last year's Elite 8 team.  Last year's SVT team couldn't come within 30 points of this Williams team on the Ephs' worst day.  It's a remarkable job by the coach of building a program in a single year.  Sure, weird things happen in the first game, and the result may be a bit flukey.  But even still, I feel confident in my prognostication skills in this case. 

Back to Williams.  Absolutely night and day in terms of poise and composure from the first game.  The Ephs start five guys that would all be one of the best two offensive players on virtually any D-3 team.  Now, Salem is not a good defensive team, but still, what an offensive show by the Eph starters. 

I am most impressed so far by Duncan Robinson.  Even better than the hype, if that is possible.  He is MUCH more than just a shooter.  Incredible poise for a first-year, looks totally comfortable out there, made great passes all game, and has a real knack for cutting to the hoop at just the right time, the game seems to move in slow motion for him at times which is unreal for a first year player.  Also contributed on defense and the boards.  He is along with Mike Nogelo the most instantly-ready first-year I've ever seen at Williams.  I'm sure he will have some ups and downs as any frosh does, but he was fantastic these first two games.  What a line today: 18-7-4 plus 3 blocks and a steal, only 1 TO, 7-10 from the field with two threes.  He was the Ephs' best overall player without EVER pressing the issue.  Rooke-Ley also looked MUCH more comfortable out there today (helped not to be hounded up and down the court as Salem's defenders were iffy) and looks to have already shaken off the rust from the year away.  He is much better than I recall from two years ago.  He dominated the flow of action tonight, really looks very confident out there.  He was the second best Eph on the floor.  Epley, Mayer, and Wohl all played their typical games, which is a good thing.  All five guys are capable of taking over a game. 

Which is not to say the Ephs still don't have plenty to work on.  On offense, I can't imagine the Ephs could play any better, they put on a clinic.  Defense is another story.  Williams played much better D in the second half than in the first, but there is still work to do on that end.  The Ephs gave up too many good looks from three and like yesterday had trouble staying in front of quicker, smaller guards.  The latter will probably be an issue all year but I do expect the Ephs to tighten up the three point defense as the season goes along.  It was encouraging to see in the second half Wohl block back-to-back three point attempts as he seemed to figure out the opposing team.  But guys beyond Wohl and Weinheimer need to step up the defensive pressure a bit. 

The Ephs bench was better today, but is still a concern.  Ryan Kilcullen had a huge first half, showing a silky-smooth stroke going 3-3 from deep to help the Ephs take control of what had been a close game.  He was however quiet after that.  Weinheimer provided a spark on the defensive end.  Other than that, the Ephs did not get much help from their bench.  The starting five is going to outscore almost every unit it faces this year.  But the Ephs need to get the bench to the point where they don't lose ground when the starters sit down.  Today was a good first step in that direction.   

[nescac1]

Two more general observations:

(1) So far, this year's crop of frosh in NESCAC looks very much like the real deal: Robinson, Sabety, St. Amour, George, and Rafferty have all lived up to their billing, and then some -- quite impressive contributions for guys playing their first collegiate games.  Plus, a previously-unmentioned Conn College first-year (Zuri Pavlin) went off for 25-15 in his first game.  It will be one heck of a race for NESCAC ROY ...

(2) This is going to be a VERY high scoring year in NESCAC, I expect.  For the first time in awhile, the conference seems to have no elite defensive stoppers (Workman and Thompson gone will make a LOT of swing players' lives easier, in particular).  Meanwhile, Williams, Midd, Amherst and Tufts, at least, look like elite offensive teams.  The jury is still out on how well those teams will play defense (for the first time I can EVER recall, Midd seems like it may be better on offense than on defense).  Add in VERY offense-friendly rule changes that make it incredibly difficult to guard elite offensive players, and we may see a lot of extremely high scoring games in conference play this season (barring a regression to the old style of calling fouls).