MBB: NESCAC

[Bucket]

My heart breaks for Williams right now...

[grabtherim]

Great game and finish. Tough loss for Williams. Not sure why Mayer wasn't put down low as soon as the WWW big guy fouled out.

[nescac1]

Williams player their hearts out but was one second short.  Heartbreaking but they lost to an awesome team which made two amazing plays down the stretch.  Can't ask for anything more.  Amazing season for the Ephs and they should be proud.  One of these days we will get the last shot vs a WIAC squad.

[magicman]

Congratulations to both teams for an amazing display of basketball. There won't be many games in the D1 tournament that will be any more exciting than this one. Tough way for the Ephs to lose and if they played Whitewater again tomorrow I have no doubt it would be Williams walking off the court with a close victory. 

[Vandy74]

Heartbreaking loss for Williams.  My biggest concern was a letdown following what had to be an especially emotional game the night before.  To the credit of Coach Maker, his staff and his players that wasn't the case.  Congratulations to the Ephs on an outstanding season.

[pjunito]

Congrats to Williams and all of their supporters. Great game by two very good teams! As exciting a championship game as anyone will see at any level.

[maineman]

That beeline down the court with a few seconds left by the UWW player reminded me of Kizel against Ithaca.  The key difference being that Joey got fouled and had to make two shots. 

[bleedpurple]

Congrats to the Ephs on a great game and a great season! Wow, what a team! That game was incredible to watch!

[nescac1]

Well, home from an incredible weekend in Salem.  Obviously, being one second away from a national title is going to smart for a long time, but I think over time that will fade and folks will remember an incredible performance over the weekend by a team that seemed nowhere close to being a national title contender in the waning minutes of January, when they had just lost twice, convincingly, to Amherst, barely scraped by Bowdoin and Colby, and were getting dominated in the first half at Middlebury.  Then there was the incredible comeback to beat the Middlebury, and the team was off to the races, getting better and better each week, as they got healthier and healthier and finally started to play as a cohesive unit.  I think this weekend the whole country saw what Eph fans had envisioned the entire season, but took awhile to come together -- one of the most offensively talented teams we will ever see in Division Three, playing absolutely beautiful team basketball. 

Williams obviously played its A plus game vs. Amherst.  That was an exhibition of basketball that won't soon be topped in NESCAC play.  I'd say they played at the A / A minus level vs. Whitewater.  The Ephs could have hit a few more open shots, especially from three point range, but most of the misses were forced by great defense, and Williams also made some extremely difficult shot attempts.  Whitewater was clearly the toughest defensive team Williams has faced not just this year, but in at least several years, probably since Midd at its 2011 defensive peak.  They didn't have a rim protector, but had everything else -- five guys who were incredibly physical, relentless, and quick, it was really impressive to watch Whitewater's defensive intensity on every single play.  They made Williams earn every single basket, other than for maybe one two minute stretch in the first half, not a single shot seemed to come easy.  It took Williams quite awhile to adjust to the lack of breathing room on offense after three games against teams that simply had no prayer of stopping the Ephs, but at the close of the first half, and through the second half, Williams once again played very well, again, in terms of moving the ball on offense.  Whitewater decided to mainly take its chances one-on-one in the post with limited help, and Mayer made them pay, but they were then able to prevent many clean looks from three, and Williams just couldn't get into a shooting rhythm from deep.  Quardell Young especially stood out, the best defensive guard Williams faced this year, certainly. 

Whitewater wasn't quite as strong on offense, but still very, very tough.  They shot the ball very well and seemed to make the Ephs pay whenever the zone gave even a bit of breathing room for shooters, with the two back-breakers being one that banked in in the first half and of course the totally pure 27-footer that put Whitewater ahead.  Heck of a shot.  KJ Evans of course did the rest, he was unstoppable on the interior, even against a lot of great defensive pressure, able to convert.  Evans, Toomey, and Eian Davis of AMC are the three most impressive offensive players I saw this year.  The other thing that hurt the Ephs was, as usual, the defensive glass -- on several key possessions down the stretch, Williams played amazing team defense to force a really tough shot, only for a Whitewater guy to come flying out of nowhere to grab an offensive board and get an easier second-chance opportunity.  Although the rebounding battle was close statistically, it sure felt like Whitewater got a lot of big buckets off second-chances.  That is always going to be a weakness of a zone team without elite athletes to snag boards, and something that hurt Williams all season, even though the zone developed into a great weapon and was clearly the correct strategy for this weekend.

The Ephs really played very well on both ends overall.  It sure seemed like they had the national title won, but Young was a nightmarish blur and not many guys in D3 could go coast-to-coast for a score in three seconds.  Williams did get back on defense, but obviously they couldn't really be ready for something like that and kudos to Young for not hesitating in the least.  Championship experience certainly showed on that play.

Three guys really stood out for Williams this weekend.  Obviously, first and foremost, was Mayer.  He cemented his legacy, in my view, as the best center we've ever seen in NESCAC as he was totally unstoppable and dominated on both ends in both games.  Averaging 23.5-9.5-3.5, plus 3 blocks and 2.5 steals, while shooting a combined 18-26, with only 1 TO per game, is a performance that has to be one of the best overall individual efforts ever seen in a D3 Final Four.   Some of the shots he made were just silly, and the highlight of the game for the Ephs today was his ridiculous ankle-breaking crossover dribble at mid-court which literally floored Hearn, and sparked the Ephs to their best run of the game.  And he came oh-so-close to netting the clinching bucket, as well. 

Duncan Robinson had a weekend for the ages as well, he was super-aggressive in both games in averaging 23.5 points while contributing a few really impressive defensive plays (a few great weakside blocks in particular) and shooting the ball great in both games.  That is pretty darn impressive for any player in a Final Four, let alone a frosh, and Coach Maker trusted him to take big shots in the biggest moments.  He has so much room to grow as a player, and particularly as he adds a bit of strength, his ceiling is incredible.  He is going to be very, very fun to watch for the next few years.

Finally, kudos to Daniel Wohl who was all over the court, doing whatever needed to be done and making big play after big play, on both ends in both games.  Key drives when the offense had broken down, big defensive stops, rebounds in traffic, great passes, he really showed the full package.  I believe he will be an all-NESCAC player next season, and if he can get more consistent in his three point and free throw shooting, could be an all-American.

Lots of other guys on the team had great moments as well, and as always, Williams played as a true team rather than a collection of individuals, so by singling out those three players, I in no way mean to slight Epley, Greenman, Rooke-Ley, etc., all of whom had big moments of their own.

I am sure the Ephs are heartbroken by yet another brutal loss to a WIAC team in a true 50-50 game, but they played their hearts out and left it all on the court in a true battle vs. a great team who played, and shot the ball, extremely well, and that is all anyone can ask.  Whitewater is a very deserving champion and the Ephs gave it their all.  I am sure this will go down as one of the best D3 title games ever, it's a shame someone had to lose, and of course, from an Eph perspective, a bigger shame it had to be the Ephs, on this day!  But wow, what a fun weekend and great to see the team truly reach its potential and play with such gusto and panache.  And of course, to get the Amherst monkey off its back in the most dramatic way possible -- that is a game that will long be remembered by Eph and Jeff fans alike!  Go Ephs!

[Old Guy]

I got to listen to the game from this distance and concur that Pat and Dave did a great job. What a thrilling game, deserving of its scale, a National Championship game.

I hope the Ephs are not "heartbroken," the metaphor we select after a tough loss, and what could be tougher that this loss. I hope their pain is short-lived and perspective quickly attained. There are 1000s of D3 basketball players would trade places with them right now, even after defeat.

Williams played well in a game of great consequence, lost to a worthy opponent. They fell just short of their ultimate goal. I hope that even in the immediate aftermath they can feel satisfaction and pride in what they had achieved, and joy in what they experienced together as a team, albeit amid tears of disappointment and exhaustion. I hope their hearts, if broken, heal fast.

There is no shame in losing. Congratulations to the Williams players and coaches on a terrific season and postseason.

[madzillagd]

Travel day. I've already seen off my nephew, brother, Bill Maker and others to one flight; Toad and I said our goodbyes as he headed off to another. The Makers, Flynns and others are are getting ready to head out soon on another.  As we all head off in different directions I can tell you that nobody associated with the team is heartbroken.  Disappointed, but not heartbroken.

This group of young men are very special, something that I'm sure many people feel about their teams every year. But I can tell you, as we all hung around the arena for awhile after the game and then back at a restaurant together for several hours, there were more smiles than long faces. These guys know they played well enough to win and it took a great play to beat them.  None of these young men are defined by basketball and I suspect that graduation and going their separate ways a few months from now is actually going to be more difficult than what happened last night.

Besides, as President Falk pointed out last night, what this group will be remembered for 50 years from now is their absolute shellacking of Amherst on Saturday night, not losing on a last second shot in the championship

[nescac1]

Great to hear that madz.  The team deserves to hold its head up high -- they played their hearts out every single possession all weekend, and reached their ultimate potential as a team.  It took a great performance by a tremendous team to beat them, and barely so at that.  That is all any player, coach, family member, or fan can ask.  And yes, that Amherst game will go down as the stuff of legend for Eph fans, given the circumstances, recent history, stakes, opponent, expectations for the game, and of course, the sheer virtuosity exhibited on the court. 

Congrats to the Eph senior class on a tremendous career and legacy.  One of the best groups of seniors in Eph history, they won 100 games as a group and overcame a lot of adversity in terms of injury and illness to do so.  They made it to Salem three times out of four years, including two Final Fours.  That in and of itself is an incredible achievement.  The one aberration was 2012, when the team suffered from every physical malady imaginable.  They won I-don't-know-how-many heartstopping games over Middlebury, at least two of which went to overtime.  They played too many memorable games against the best programs in D3 -- Wooster, Amherst, Midd, Virginia Wesleyan, Whitewater, Catholic, Hampden Sydney -- to count.  Although they struggled in the aggregate against Amherst, they made up for that by coming through to beat the Jeffs on the biggest stage twice -- once in the Elite 8, and once in the Final 4, to keep the Ephs' record vs. the Jeffs perfect in NCAA tourney play. 

As individuals, they will be impossible to replace.  Mayer and Epley finished their careers as the seventh and eighth leading scorers in Williams history, respectively.  Epley, after a rough mid-season stretch, recovered to top form, and had several huge games down the stretch of the season; without him, the Ephs never would have made it to Salem this year.  He was a tough, fearless player with a knack for hitting the big shot his entire career.

Mayer will go down as the best center in Williams history in my opinion, just edging out Ben Coffin and Troy Whittington due to the fact that he sustained an elite level for slightly longer in his career (in terms of who was the best at his best, that is a toss-up).  His last two tourney runs were the stuff of legend -- at some point I'll calculate the stats, but I'd bet that he averaged over 20 and 10 over the course of the last two NCAA tourneys, playing against a string of really great shot-blockers / defensive big guys.  I have never seen a D3 big guy with his total skill set -- the dribbling and passing ability, the seemingly endless array of moves on the interior, the great shooting touch from all over the court.  And he did it all with a totally original, unorthodox style of play.  Heck, you don't see big guys in D1 with those kind of skills very often.  His improvement from freshman to senior years was unreal.  The thought of trying to replace his production on the interior is terrifying.  But most of all, he was an incredibly fun player to watch. 

Finally, kudos to John Weinhiemer and Matt McCreary.  Both played a lot of important minutes for the Ephs over the past two years.  They handled a tough situation -- due to injuries, match-ups, and so on, playing very big roles or relatively small roles in any given game, sometimes in any given half -- with tremendous class, and whenever called upon, were always ready to make an impact on the court, particularly at the defensive end.  The legacy of the past four years is theirs, as much as it is Mayer's and Epley's.  Greg Payton also deserves kudos for his contributions to the program in practice and as a leader over the past three years.  A football star, he didn't play much on the basketball court, but he would have seen a lot of minutes for a lot of teams in D3. 

Despite losing a dominant senior class, the future is still bright for the Ephs.  Kilcullen, Robinson, Wohl, Rooke-Ley and Greenman will form a strong starting unit that can really handle and shoot the rock, and Aronowitz will likely be a break-out player next year.  Seeing three first-year players on the court together for significant stretches in both Final Four games is certainly an encouraging sign for the next three years.  The rising junior class will make bigger contributions in support of that group.  But for now, too early to look forward, and plenty still to enjoy in looking back! 

[magicman]

I got to listen to the game from this distance and concur that Pat and Dave did a great job. What a thrilling game, deserving of its scale, a National Championship game.

I hope the Ephs are not "heartbroken," the metaphor we select after a tough loss, and what could be tougher that this loss. I hope their pain is short-lived and perspective quickly attained. There are 1000s of D3 basketball players would trade places with them right now, even after defeat.

Williams played well in a game of great consequence, lost to a worthy opponent. They fell just short of their ultimate goal. I hope that even in the immediate aftermath they can feel satisfaction and pride in what they had achieved, and joy in what they experienced together as a team, albeit amid tears of disappointment and exhaustion. I hope their hearts, if broken, heal fast.

There is no shame in losing. Congratulations to the Williams players and coaches on a terrific season and postseason.

Old Guy,

I don't think anyone could have said it better. Perhaps now that basketball season is all done I can catch up on your blog a bit. Hope you are well on the Dark Continent. Plus K.

[frank uible]

DIII athletics is about the journey by the kids. Ask them how well they have liked it.

[jumpshot]

Everything about the Williams team has been so well said I can only add my thanks to the players and coaches for representing Williams College so well again throughout this season--and for showing all of us what a perfect game is on Friday night in totally dominating amHerst.