MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Fun fact: with Williams' four national championships (all from women's teams) during the past two seasons of play, the Ephs have pulled (I believe) even with Middlebury at 34 titles each.  Two Williams teams are currently ranked first in the country (women's tennis and golf), giving the Ephs a shot at pulling ahead in the Spring. 

[Bucket]

Fun fact: with Williams' four national championships (all from women's teams) during the past two seasons of play, the Ephs have pulled (I believe) even with Middlebury at 34 titles each.  Two Williams teams are currently ranked first in the country (women's tennis and golf), giving the Ephs a shot at pulling ahead in the Spring.

Probably why the editor chose not to use Williams as a comparison!

[NothingButNESCAC]

Completely agree, P'bearfan, about NothingButNESCAC.  It is a terrific site with insightful analysis on the sports that it covers.  I believe that it is done by Middlebury (or is it Bowdoin?) students so I hope that there is some passing along plan for when these students graduate.  They do an excellent job.

Thanks for the kind words. Joe MacDonald goes to Middlebury, and I go to Bowdoin. Both of us are seniors. We have had some younger guys writing for us also, so hopefully they continue with it. It has been a really fun thing to do between readings and problem sets. We don't post here too often since, you know, we have our own place to do that. We do follow the Board closely though. - Adam Lamont

[JEFFFAN]

Old Guy and Bucket--I have a question to ask you.  I have been a member of the Amherst Hoop family for over 10 years but before that I was a proud Midd football father, and certainly cherished my fall Saturday afternoons in Vermont.  I was surprised by the level of antipathy a few years ago between Amherst and Midd, and even discussed it with Old Guy a week or so after the "Box Out" game.
So I get my Midd alumni mag this week and see a great article on Midd Sports with the following side bar---Number of Midd national championships---[some huge number--I don't have in front of me].  Then...Number of national championships for Amherst during the same period--9, or 13, or something about 20% of the Midd number.
I'm calling cheap shot--you guys might have exceeded the total of the rest of the conference combined but you chose to pick on Amherst. We are all friends here, right?
Tell the truth--which one of you guys decided to put that in?

This will surely draw the wrath (or sarcasm) of other NESCAC school followers, but as AMH63 pointed out over the past day or so, Amherst does not give tips to every sport.   I have no idea whether other NESCAC schools pick and choose their sport tips, so this is not meant as a comparative statement.   It is simply that Amherst, as the smallest school in the NESCAC and the most diverse (see the recent Fortune magazine article on diversity) socioeconomically, has chosen to pick some sports to excel in - if possible - and let the other sports do what they can without tips.   It is frankly a smart strategy for any small (or comparatively small) school to embrace.   Amherst also does not have the historical success in sports such as crew and swimming, for instance, that Williams does, so strong performers in those sports will gravitate to programs with more historical success - and rightfully so.

The point is simply that Amherst cannot and will not try to compete for a total number of national championships.   They have picked thier sports to try to excel in.   This just makes them like a number of schools their size nationwide.

[hoya73]

No denials yet from Bucket or Old Guy--I know they run the place up there! 
Not trying to pick any fights.  We Nescac'ers have no idea how great we all have it.
Thanks for the kind words AMH63--life in the NJAC is interesting--no great teams but everybody plays hard and can do some damage.  Unfortunately Junior is the tallest person in the team photo, but he's recruiting hard.  He has a bunch of really good kids.  We have missed winter weekends at LeFrak.

[jumpshot]

Jefffan ----you are simply reiterating the hamster's focus in depth on major "marquee sports" (with "marketing value" according to the former "general manager"/former admissions director), while treating "minor sports" as second class activities that was first pointed out on this board several years ago. We recall several hamster alums advocating for male sports, such as football, basketball, soccer, baseball, etc., at the expense of women's sports.

So, it has settled out with tips, transfers, etc., along these lines ....

[Old Guy]

Old Guy and Bucket--I have a question to ask you.  I have been a member of the Amherst Hoop family for over 10 years but before that I was a proud Midd football father, and certainly cherished my fall Saturday afternoons in Vermont.  I was surprised by the level of antipathy a few years ago between Amherst and Midd, and even discussed it with Old Guy a week or so after the "Box Out" game.
So I get my Midd alumni mag this week and see a great article on Midd Sports with the following side bar---Number of Midd national championships---[some huge number--I don't have in front of me].  Then...Number of national championships for Amherst during the same period--9, or 13, or something about 20% of the Midd number.
I'm calling cheap shot--you guys might have exceeded the total of the rest of the conference combined but you chose to pick on Amherst. We are all friends here, right?
Tell the truth--which one of you guys decided to put that in?

Not I! Heavens no. I have absolutely no influence over the content in the MiddMag. The guy who edits the magazine is a tyrant! Every once in a while he throws me a morsel, and I or someone in my family gets to write something for him (without compensation, in my case), but that's it.

And for me, national championships are not the measure. I'm a '60s Jack Scott/Bill Walton/Chip Oliver/Tommie Smith sports radical. I've been at Midd for a long time, way before any nat'l championships. You know, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game, and you should play them one at a time. That's what I'm all about.

Now, Bucket, he's something else.

[P'bearfan]

It is simply that Amherst, as the smallest school in the NESCAC and the most diverse (see the recent Fortune magazine article on diversity) socioeconomically, has chosen to pick some sports to excel in - if possible - and let the other sports do what they can without tips.

Haven't seen the Forbes article but according to Dr. Wikipedia the smallest NESCAC schools based on enrollment are:

1) Bates - 1773
2) Amerst - 1795
3) Bowdoin - 1799
4) Colby - 1825

So, have to give the title of "little brother" to Bates.  And honestly, I think you have to call Amherst and Bowdoin a push since on any given weekend at least 4 Bowdoin students could wander off into the woods never to return (possibly b/c they're part of the Outing Club and prefer the woods).

[ronk]

Old Guy and Bucket--I have a question to ask you.  I have been a member of the Amherst Hoop family for over 10 years but before that I was a proud Midd football father, and certainly cherished my fall Saturday afternoons in Vermont.  I was surprised by the level of antipathy a few years ago between Amherst and Midd, and even discussed it with Old Guy a week or so after the "Box Out" game.
So I get my Midd alumni mag this week and see a great article on Midd Sports with the following side bar---Number of Midd national championships---[some huge number--I don't have in front of me].  Then...Number of national championships for Amherst during the same period--9, or 13, or something about 20% of the Midd number.
I'm calling cheap shot--you guys might have exceeded the total of the rest of the conference combined but you chose to pick on Amherst. We are all friends here, right?
Tell the truth--which one of you guys decided to put that in?

Not I! Heavens no. I have absolutely no influence over the content in the MiddMag. The guy who edits the magazine is a tyrant! Every once in a while he throws me a morsel, and I or someone in my family gets to write something for him (without compensation, in my case), but that's it.

And for me, national championships are not the measure. I'm a '60s Jack Scott/Bill Walton/Chip Oliver/Tommie Smith sports radical. I've been at Midd for a long time, way before any nat'l championships. You know, it's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game, and you should play them one at a time. That's what I'm all about.

Now, Bucket, he's something else.

As a young teenager, I watched Scott practice frequently with his high school football team. His coach was old, old school and very tough which may have shaped his radical spirit. I still have his book.

[JEFFFAN]

It is simply that Amherst, as the smallest school in the NESCAC and the most diverse (see the recent Fortune magazine article on diversity) socioeconomically, has chosen to pick some sports to excel in - if possible - and let the other sports do what they can without tips.

Haven't seen the Forbes article but according to Dr. Wikipedia the smallest NESCAC schools based on enrollment are:

1) Bates - 1773
2) Amerst - 1795
3) Bowdoin - 1799
4) Colby - 1825

So, have to give the title of "little brother" to Bates.  And honestly, I think you have to call Amherst and Bowdoin a push since on any given weekend at least 4 Bowdoin students could wander off into the woods never to return (possibly b/c they're part of the Outing Club and prefer the woods).

Kudos for accuracy!!

[Bucket]

This is behind a paywall, but as a subscriber, I'll give you the skinny:

ESPN.com just posted a "50 Players Who Could Make the Most Noise in March" story.

Holding down the 1 spot is an obvious choice: Buddy Hield of Oklahoma. Freshman phenom Ben Simmons, the likely number 1 pick in the NBA draft, pops up at number 33. Four spots ahead of him at 29? None other than Duncan Robinson, with this blurb:

Robinson's improbable journey from Division III to the upper tier of the Big Ten has been well documented. I will only add here that it's February and John Beilein's sophomore is still making close to 50 percent of his 3s. Robinson is the next great shooter in a program that has seen its share.

Seeing that this is a DI list, I'm most enthused about the number 5 choice, UVa's London Perrantes. Go Hoos!

[amh63]

P'bear fan....guess your reference to Dr Wikipedia is accurate in that Amherst gave him a honorary degree several years ago.  In defense of Jefffan the Amherst enrollment has been floating about the past decade....in part due to rooms available.  Number of former frat houses have been taken off line for renovations/enlargement, tearing down of several social dorms for the new science building that Has been delayed, etc. Four new dorms will be ready by early Summer...will have two outdoor basketball courts!  Expect the enrollment will settle down around just under 1800.  Hope not to lose any students in the woods or coming back from Hamp.
Oh yes, was leaving the H from Amherst a mistake or intentional?

[P'bearfan]

P'bear fan....guess your reference to Dr Wikipedia is accurate in that Amherst gave him a honorary degree several years ago.  In defense of Jefffan the Amherst enrollment has been floating about the past decade....in part due to rooms available.  Number of former frat houses have been taken off line for renovations/enlargement, tearing down of several social dorms for the new science building that Has been delayed, etc. Four new dorms will be ready by early Summer...will have two outdoor basketball courts!  Expect the enrollment will settle down around just under 1800.  Hope not to lose any students in the woods or coming back from Hamp.
Oh yes, was leaving the H from Amherst a mistake or intentional?

LOL!   That time it was unintentional - just the result of my poor typing / spelling / proof-reading skills.

[magicman]

The new Regional Rankings have been released by the NCAA.

Amherst still #1 as the top 4 remain the same. Wesleyan falls to #7. WPI, Eastern Connecticut and Johnson & Wales move up a bit. MIT drops to #9.

Here's the link:
http://www.d3blogs.com/d3hoops/category/ncaa-stuff/regional-rankings/

[amh63]

Magicman.....beat me to the punch again.  The regional rankings this week include another factor..a factor that is a better gage...according to Hoopsville.  The top three are Amherst, Trinity and Tufts which could indicate the conference could be a three plus post season conference.
FYI , Hoopsville's host indicated that on Thursday's broadcast, he will discuss the NESCAC.
Will try to catch the show in South Carolina!