MBB: NESCAC

[JeffRookie2]

Also, some people were trashing Bowdoin earlier, but they probably gave Amherst their closest game of the season last year in the NESCAC in the opening round of the conference tournament. Petrie is a great player with a sick jump shot and that Bradley kid caught fire and was hitting threes all over the place. I think they could be one player away from being one of top teams in the northeast.

[formerbant10]

My bad on the rookie part....no hard feelings.

Casnocha is a very good defender, but doesn't have the size to stop Rhoten.  Just look at the semifinal game from last year, Rhoten had 31 playing with a broken foot.  
I think the biggest difference will be on the defensive side of the ball for the Bants.  Mike Hoar is a very good post defender, but it looks like they'll have to rely on some of the new guys to be able to shut down the perimeter players...which is the toughest part of making the transition from High School to college.
The Jeffs have a great shot at winning the title again, it's too bad that they have to play Trinity in the first weekend again this year.  It would be nice if they could play when they're both peaking in February.
As for Bowdoin giving Amherst their closest game...you must be forgetting about the 2 instant classics the Bants and Jeffs had last year.  Petrie is very good, but their lack of a post presence will haunt them again.

[JeffRookie2]

You're right, somehow I forgot about that semifinal game. Rhoten was amazing and I remember also being impressed with the way Robert Taylor III played. Trinity certainly should have received votes for the top 25, but we'll have to see how they perform this year. They had a tendency to play down to the level of lesser opponents last year. If they want to get their respect back they are going to have to start beating inferior teams with a little bit more ease.

[formerbant10]

RT3 impressed you while playing the entire year with torn ligament in his right wrist making it pretty much impossible to shoot.
That was one of the problems with Trinity last year, their starting five was never healthy at the same time so, that hurt them with reaching their full potential.  They did have some problems with closing games out, they lost 5 games by 3 points or less, but hopefully they have learned from last year and will do a better job with that this year.

[nescachoopsfan]

to adress the prior question, jeremy black went to jamesville dewitt high school in syracuse where they went undefeated and wont the ny state championship.  also i think people overrate bowdion because of that one game they had against amherst.  in sports especially college basketball pretty much anyone can beat anyone if a team doesnt show up to play.  from what ive seen petrie is very creative with his shot selection, and i use creative as the nicest word possible but i guess he has to be when he is the first and second option on the team.  and while trinity does seem to have more size than most d3 teams, i dont think too many freshman no matter how hyped they are can ever really contribute big time for a team.  i dont mean they wont contribute but rarely is a team focusing in on stopping a freshman  but they do have rhoten which is enough to beat many teams.

[formerbant10]

NHoopsFan,

Well put on the freshman part...but I think Amherst had to rely on Olsen a few times last year as a rookie and in my personal opinion he did very very well.  But it would have been much tougher for him had there been another freshman on the court with him, which could be the case in Hartford.
If Jeremy Black was co-player of the year with AJ Price, then why did he end up at Tufts?  I mean, Ben Gordon didn't even get NY State player of the year when he was a senior, and they were in the same class as Amityville and I guess Jamesville Dewitt.  Anybody else know more about this kid??

[nescac1]

Definitely a good question.  If you see this link, you can see where he stood his senior year:

http://www.thedailystar.com/sports/2004/05/15/sphoop.html

Shalvoy at Williams, who started as a frosh, was only fifth team, and Onyiruka was sixth team, and he was a starter and major contributor for Rochester's runner-up NCAA team, so if Black was considered to be that much better than those two in H.S. (not only first team but essentially the second best player in the entire class), he could be scary good.  But it's all speculation at this point ...

[formerbant10]

First off, thanks for the link.

Why are there 8th and 9th teams for All State, thats a little ridiculous.  I know who most of the section 1 guys are including the one who was 1st team for class A with Price and Black...the best way for me to describe him:  Project. 

But good for him, I hope he is as good as advertised...that would be great for the NESCAC.

[nescachoopsfan]

i've heard a lot of things about black, and i think basically why he ended up at tufts is because of his size.  he is a 5'10" maybe an inch taller pg without topnotch speed.  Unless you play above the rim or have the quickness of iverson, i dont think many d1 programs would look at you.

[JeffRookie2]

WAMH, Amherst college's radio station will be webcasting the season opener against Fitchburg State this Friday at 6pm. To listen, go to http://www.amherst.edu/~wamh/ and click on the link.

[Denton]

Hi -

New guy on the block.

The Babson tourney will be interesting to watch with both Williams and Bowdoin.
Game 1 tonite Polar Bears vs Babson
Game 2 Williams vs Whittier (CA) - don't no much about them

Both Bowdoin & Babson will have some rookies on the court.  Scouting report on the Bears says a couple preseason injuries including Petrie.  They will probably have to back fill with a trio of frosh (all from Mass) Lane, Jackson, & Reid-Sturgis.

With all the talk of Williams being down this year - could have a very interesting matchup tomorrow if Williams & Bowdoin faced of (Don't often see NESCAC games the first weekend of the season.

[camelbacker]

Looks to me that the camels could be better this year if players have worked hard in off season and  the 5 frosh are able to help. What hapened to Rogers and Kelly?.Both where hurt most of last year but the few wins the Camels had came in there prescence.The team seems to have size with Stone Harris and Zejnullahu, just hope they have some one that can shoot.Key player will be 6'4 Patten who  is real tough and has had 2yrs with the team. Harris has also been hurt most of his 2 years and he could also help if healthy. Good Luck

[nescac1]

Camel -- Rogers transferred to Hamilton. 

Ephs looked better than expected last night.  Clearly, moving the ball, defense, and rebounding are high priorities without a lot of creators on offense, and there were some good signs.  Rose was simply awesome, wow, he won't always get that many open looks, but he was draining from everywhere, rebounding like a fiend, and playing great D.  He could be the guy to replace Kain's production and is sure to be an all-Nescac player before he is done.  Much improved. But, he is only a sophomore so he can't carry too much of a burden.  Back court looked really good.  Both Shalvoy and Gibbons are improved on defense, leadership, and aggressiveness.  Both looking for their shots a lot more, and Gibbons played the best I have ever seen him play, some great passes.  The team they were playing against seemed to have a pretty weak back-court, so hard to draw too much from one game, but Gibbons seems better when forced to be a leader on offense, he has too much offensive game to be a background guy and just let the game come to him, when aggressive he can be very good.  Shalvoy looked for his shot more and handled the ball with a lot more confidence, plus played great on the ball defense.  The inside game needs some work, but has potential.  Newton played OK, but looked really out of rhythm / out of synch and seemed to be moving slowly, I imagine it will take some time for him to get into the flow after an offseason of no hoops.  Kuntz bulked up a lot and played good D, but needs to be a little more assertive on the boards, as does Newton.  Other than Rose, no one was really tearing rebounds down out there.  But Paulsen is clearly focusing on rebouding first and foremost so that will change.  They really need Weisbrot back because they often had only one guy out there over 6'3, and no big guys played from the bench at ALL.  REALLY thin up front.  The two frosh who played looked promising.  Moore has the potential to be like Leary this year -- similar build and looks like he should be a good defender and rebounder for his height.  Didn't look to score at all so who knows what he can bring on offense, but he should contribute in other ways.  Snyder also didn't look for his shot but it looks like he has the chance to contribute a few points here and there and he looked good in warm-ups, athletic with a nice shot.  Both of them will need to look to score as they gain confidence.  Nelson was the same as last year -- hard worker on defense who can hit open 3's from the corners.  He was the sixth man.  So, in sum, if Gibbons, Shalvoy and Rose all continue to play as well as they played last night, the Ephs could be solid, assuming that Newton returns to 100 percent.   The shooters won't get that sort of room against better opponents unless the Ephs have a more commanding inside presence.  Interior defense was a bit of a problem last night, but to be fair that team had solid bigs who made some very difficult shots over Newton and Kuntz.   The Ephs bigs do need to be more physical in denying post position.  Ephs' fast break was great, looked like 2003 all over again, but again, the opponent was suspect and turned the ball over quite a bit.   

I didn't see Bowdoin but they have to be disappointed losing like that to Babson, looks like they will be very thin again.  How Babson plays against Williams will provide an interesting comparison.  Tough start for Tufts, but losing to a top 10 team is nothing to be embarassed about.  Trinity barely won, but against a solid team.  Still, if Hasiuk is indeed out for the season, they are really thin on the perimiter.  Looks like it may be another year of Rhoten carrying the load ...  Bates sounds like everyone predicted -- awesome starting five, pretty thin bench.  Amherst may be the only team in the league this year that goes more than 7 deep ...

Speaking of which, sounds like Amherst looked scary, as expected, though against a terrible opponent so hard to take much from it, except that Amherst has ridiculous, ridiculous depth.  How many teams bring in a Div I transfer off the bench?  Pencil them in as undefeated until 2006. 

[Denton]

I was also at the Babson tourney last night and must agree with you NESCAC1 that Williams looked much better that people had been discussing.  Should be an interesting season.  In the Bowdoin game they came out strong in the first half then faded.  Out hustled both ways.  Petrie play but was coming off an ankle injury and their center was out as well.  I think the delay in starting NESCAC practice until Nov 1 was a factor, although that was not the case with Williams. 

[ephwithbeef]

looked like a solid opening night for nescac teams. williams dominated, trinity squeaked one out, amherst won big, and wesleyan won. shalvoy didn't exactly light it up for us, but he'll have his ups and downs. look forward to a great season.