MBB: NESCAC

[ephoops]

NESCAC1:


Do you have any details on the incoming freshmen for Williams (ie, name, high school, home town, stats, etc.)?

[nescac1]

I can't confirm any of this except for what has already been posted here from previous news article but from the total Williams frosh class from what I've heard (not positive all of these guys are actually playing, and there could be other guys as well although this is already a huge group ):

6'7 C Joe Geoghegan (Me), 6'7 F Ethan Timmins (De), 6'5 G/F William Hardy (Va), 6'4 G/F Alex Rubin (DC), 6'3 G Blake Schultz (Ca), 6'0 G Mike Moorstein (DC).   

Not sure how much of an impact any of them might make but the Ephs could definitely use some big scorers off the bench, and I think most of them are shooters.  I don't know if any can help with the Ephs biggest need which is rebounding and toughness inside (what Nescac team doesn't have a need there?).  What is interesting is, if this group is fairly accurate, about half the Williams roster will now be from the greater-DC / VA area (four of those guys, plus Hanifan, Wall, Kearney, Weisbrot, and previously Leary).  Paulsen must have serious connections there.   A ton from California as well.  Only one guy on the entire team from Mass.  Probably a factor of there just not being that many top academic/athletic basketball players from Mass, and a ton of great Div III programs all fighting for them (compare that to the small number of elite Div III west coast programs), and Williams' ability to draw nationally which is pretty unusual in Div III. 

[walzy31]

Reading quotes from Crotty makes my stomach turn. Who's with me?

Not too many Kevin Pittsnogles will choose a NESCAC school over a Big East school, but I wish it would happen. I always like to throw the hypothetical of taking one 7 foot "bad" D1 player and putting them in the conference. Some like Big Deli from UMass or his equivalent.

The Amherst Exeter guard is very quick. He is short, but the best on ball defender we have had since Harper. He won't play til he is a Junior so I won't hype him up like the Williams fans hype up every single one of their incoming players like they are the next coming of David Ortiz.

[JeffRookie2]

I didnt mean kevin pittsnogle himself, i meant the NESCAC-equivalent of a kevin pittsnogle.

[ajsnc13]

I don't see "Big Deli" as much of an impact even in the NESCAC.  I played against him in AAU, he is big, slow, and not much of a defender.  Yes he can rebound and score when he is near the basket, but he won't be making many turn around jump shots or mid range jumpers.  He is a good player, but id much rather have someone like Stockwell, Martin, or Cohen as my center then the Big Deli.

[JeffRookie2]

1. I'm amused by the reference to weitzen's "particular physique", but yes, i know what you mean

2. is weitzen "big deli"?

3. when did stockwell become a center? he is a pf at most

[JeffRookie2]

I think there are three main questions im most looking forward to having answered.

1. Will Adolphe start? I don't think he will at the beginning of the year, I think it will be the three returning starters plus McLaughlin and Goldsmith. I hope as the year goes on though that he will turn it up and make the starting 5.

2. What role will stephen wheeler play, if any? I know Hixon hates playing freshman, but if he is anywhere near his brother (dan says his brother is better) then i think he has to be in the rotation

3. What will last year's recruits contribute, if anything?  I would love to see baskauskas get some PT, and I think glen wong will take over the role of back-up point guard now that corrigan and KZ are gone.

Overall I think the team will look like this this:

5: O'Shea, Hopkins
4: D.Wheeler
3: Goldsmith, Baskauskas
2: Mclaughlin, Coulibaly
1: Olson, Wong

Thats nine players getting time on the court, plus maybe stephen wheeler. I think assuming there are no major injuries, that should be enough to compete for the nescac as long as coulibaly is ready to step up and take over a lot of the scoring role formerly held by Bedford.

[La Verdad]

JeffRookie,

I understand that you are one of the Amherst announcers, so you obviously have seen the team play more than I have.  You also seem to be a veteran at this site, so  i'll try to give you the respect you deserve.  That being said, I'd like to make a few comments on some of your most recent posts...
I think you are a little hard on the defensive capabilities of Hopkins and Jones.  I know you are trying to be an unbiased journalist or whatever, but that doesn't mean you have to be more critical of your own players than you would be of others.  I think both of them had stretches last year where they were impact players on both ends of the floor.  I think it would be best to reserve judgement until they start to play a little more.  I'm expecting big things from both of them this year.  Nobody will deny that Hopkins can dominate in the nescac if he puts it all together. 
Picking Glenn Wong to become the back up PG seems a little odd to me.  I would have chosen one of the players who actually plays PG, such as Salerno or Bradley.  I also have heard good things about the Freshman PG they are bringing in (a great defender who has more of a scoring ego than Olson). 
I was impressed that you knew Goldsmith will be moving to the 3.  It will be interesting to see how breaking his wrist twice this summer will affect that switch.

Either way, the Jeffs are loaded with talent as always.  I think they have 10 players that can be thrown in without much of a drop off and that isn't counting the two frosh who are supposed to be outstanding.  Should be fun to watch.

[JeffRookie2]

The Truth, i agree with you that Hopkins and Jones deserve more time to prove themselves, and perhaps i judged them too hastily. However, the reputation of both players seems to be that their stregnths are on the offensive end of the floor. It seemed that Hopkins spent a large period of time last season in Hixon's doghouse, (all of a sudden got a big reduction in PT) and the only reason I could see for that was his failure to play well on D. Don't get me wrong, I think they are both very talented players with the potential to absolutely dominate on offense. If either would beef up, I think they could also be talented defensively, but it often looked as though they were getting pushed around last year. I sincerely hope I have underestimated them, and that with more time they will improve this year.

As for the backup point-guard situation, I think you have a decent arguement with Bradley, as he was recruited as a PG, but Wong seemed to play there more than Marcus did, which I thought was strange, since he definitely seems like more of a 2. The reason I think he will be the primary back-up is because it seems like Hixon was grooming him last season to bring the ball up, and he can guard the larger point guards that Olson often struggles with. That was one of Ray Corrigan's major assets last season, even starting some games in place of Olson when Hixon thought his D would be particuraly valuable. There is also a long line for PT at the 2, with Coulibaly and McLaughlin (although Coulibaly could certainly play the 3 at times)

Salerno will definitely not see much time. While I love the guy as much as the next Amherst fan, and I think he is great in the secondary on the football field, the great thing about Salerno Time is that it means the game is already in hand and we can afford to put him on the court.

Hixon has shown that he doesnt like playing first-years, with Olson being the exception to the rule, and that coming due to the injury to Corrigan. With Olson, Wong, and Bradley all playing point, I doubt any freshman will see significant time there.

As for my journalistic integrity, I don't particurally mind letting in fly on this site.

[nescac1]

I don't think Williams folks unduly hype any incoming players over the last few years -- other than a few comments about Timmins, most have been in the line of, hopefully these guys can contribute sooner rather than later.  With Div III players, other than the rare Olson-type, it is nearly impossible to predict what kind of impact they will have given how little information is out there compared to a Div I level prospect.  Williams will certainly need its underclassmen to step up quickly given that it has a very small (in numbers and size) senior group and given the gaping holes up front, but who knows if that is in the cards ... probably a long shot, as Tufts is the only team in recent years I can think of who was able to compete thanks in large part to huge contributions from several new players. 

I see that both of Williams' assistant coaches have been hired by other programs (one as a head coach, per a recent tradition -- Paulsen has quite the coaching factory going).  Any word on who replaced those assistants, if anyone yet? 

As for Amherst, I think Hopkins in particular could be a very big contributor just because no one in NESCAC can match up with his size, especially as he fills out.  He is two inches taller than any other rotation player returning in the league, and he moves fairly well for a big guy.   It's funny, I though of Jones as more of a defensive player than an offensive force, in the limited (one time) I saw him play that appeared to be his strength. 

Interesting re: Goldsmith, that's a rough break, how did he break his wrist twice?  Man Amherst can put a huge line-up in next year with all of those swingmen between 6'5 and 6'7. 

[old_hooper]

Do not forget about Walters.  He is also 6'8 and he has a wing span of a 7 footer.  He needs to get more physical but he is a lefty with a good outside shot and runs the court well for a big guy.

[La Verdad]

I guess there's no reason to argue about who's gonna back up Olson, the kid would start even if he had a broken leg.  Hopkins definitely got in the doghouse early in the year, but he and Hixon are supposedly on good terms after a nice chat and a strong performance at the Final 4.  I forget how Goldsmith broke his wrist the first time and he only slightly rebroke it the other day, so he should be good to go soon enough.  Amherst's height advantage is scary, I'd love to see Hixon tinker with an offense that takes advantage of that.  I was just about to mention Walters too.  The kid was a guard in high school then grew something like 6 inches in a year or two.  With his height, length, and skill set he can cause mismatches against pretty much every team.

[JeffRookie2]

Much to my chagrin, i was not there to witness the final four live, and all i could see was the crummy internet feed. Again, I hope you're right about hopkins, a strong performance from him would mean a ton for the team next near.

I could be wrong about wong, we'll just have to wait and see.

I really dont see walters or jones getting a lot of time simply due to how deep the team is. If you look at the rotation, you have to figure the following are all ahead of Jones and Walters:

O'Shea
Hopkins
Wheeler
Goldsmith
McLaughlin
Coulibaly
Olson
Back-up PG (wong, bradley, or whoever.)

Thats 8 right there, plus possibly Baskauskas or Stephen Wheeler. Its just hard to figure where the minutes for Jones and Walters would come from.

[senatorfrost]

 When I watched the web thing of the final four I was very impressed with Amelianovich and Zack Freeman. In Freeman's case, I fantacized a little and told myself that maybe now that he (Freeman) has seen Amherst and their players and their fans, he just might give Hixon a call and say he wanted to transfer for his last year.
  After all, it would be a chance for him to be in Massachusetts for a while, home of the Cabots, the Lodges and the Kennedy's. You couldn't ask for much more. He could learn first hand why New England is the center of the country and maybe even the Northern Hemisphere. However, he probably isn't coming so in my opinion Amherst has a problem which Freeman could solve, but probably won't.
   Wheeler and Olson are fine. McLaughlin, I believe and hope will continue his improvement, and so will Goldsmith. Goldsmith never seemed at home close to the basket, whether on offense or defense. He looked a a #3-maybe a #4?. In my opinion all the others have to show a vast improvement over last year or the team will be in trouble when crunch time comes.
   Coulibaly-a super athlete but I saw no value in his 3pt. attempts from the side. It would be nice if he could hang around the basket. If he improved his touch(From close in)  a bit, he could be a handful for anyone to handle around the basket.
  O'Shea-seemed to fit in well on offense. I liked the way he looked. Unfortunately there is that other part of the game.
  Hopkins-Has looked good at times but tends to 'gum up' the offense. Could be a huge help on the defensive end with his height and reach-We will see.
   Wheeler-I hope he is better than his brother. Dan Wheeler saw time as a Frosh on what was seemingly a better team-Thus if he really is better than Dan, Steven should break into the rotation sometime around January.
  Baskauskas. I have heard many many good things about him. Hard to comment because his minutes were VERY limited. I am hoping he can add strength and be the best shooting #4 in the league.
   I think Bradley will be the back up PG over Wong. Wong is a #2 in my opinion. I haven't noticed Jones or Walters enough so as to effectively comment. I have heard Walters is immensely talented, we will see.
   If Taylor and Hasiuk return to Trinity and are a little better than when they left, then Trinity might have to be the favorite going in. These are two very good players. In 2004 Taylor and Rhoten beat Amherst pretty much ALL by THEMSELVES. Game was at Amherst and no one could stop Taylor, not even Harper as I remember. With Rhoten gone people will see just how good Taylor and Pat Martin are. Pat Martin took on Tufts almost single handed after Rhoten got in foul trouble. He put on a pretty good show, Martin i.e.

[thunder32]

I see this board has become the Amherst posting board.  I mean we all know that they are going to be really good again next year no matter who starts and who is playing because Hixon is a great coach.  Now with that being said maybe we should start to talk about Bates with the premier guard big man combo in the league with Stockwell and Ray or maybe one of the bottom feeders in the league becuase you already know who the top teams in the league are but you never know who is going to make that jump to the top of the leauge like tufts did two years ago.  For example do you think that either Cohen or Stone can carry their teams to be in contention with the big dogs next year.  Because if you look in the past, one of the components to having a successfull team is to have a good experienced big man.  You saw that with tufts the last couple years and with trinity, Williams a few years ago and even Amherst I mean maybe they didnt have a dominant big man but they threw enough brutes at you to wear you down. 
But then again I have a bias opinion on big men