MBB: NESCAC

[TheHerst2and4]

So, it's mid-September: any word on impact frosh or surprise break-out upperclassmen from NESCAC campuses?

One potential impact frosh for Amherst has had a change of heart. Jamil Gambari has decided to enroll at Hampton University as a walk-on instead of Amherst.
Word is the decision was driven by a desire to play division 1 basketball and a concern that Amherst didn't have a business program (a fact that hasn't seemed to hurt the careers of countless successful business men and women with an Amherst degree). Interestingly enough his high school, prep school and even the Hampton coach have allegedly advised him Amherst would provide the best playing time and education opportunities for him.
Too bad, I was looking forward to seeing that athleticism on the court but best of luck to him. Looking forward to fall pick-up updates.

[nescac1]

Thanks for the update, Herst2and4.  Curious to hear how the other Amherst frosh look.  Probably only room for one of them (if that) in this year's rotation (Clapp or Mobley I'd guess) but the Jeffs will be losing at least five and as many as seven rotation players to graduation after this year, and have pretty thin (it appears) soph and junior classes, so this year's frosh class will probably be massively important for Amherst as early as next year; all four will likely be seeing significant floor time as sophomores.  Speaking of which, I noticed Jayde Dawson was listed as a sophomore on last year's roster, but didn't he play a full season of D1 hoops, making him a rising senior? 

Seems like an odd decision by Gambari -- although I'm not sure he actually would have played much at Amherst for awhile, if ever, let alone at Hampton.  At the wing position, Amherst is STOCKED -- Riopel and McCarthy will be starters for the next two years, last year's frosh Groff may or may not be a player behind them, and then the incoming freshmen class features three well-regarded wings in Clapp, Mobley, and Chery.  Maybe he'll play at Hampton, maybe not (I assume though that Hampton has more talent than Amherst) -- but if you are looking at it from a future-income perspective, seems cryptic.  Then again, who knows -- Jeff Van Gundy transferred from Yale to Nazareth to get more hoops burn, a decision that I imagine a lot of people questioned at the time, and it worked out OK for him . 

[P'bearfan]

Then again, who knows -- Jeff Van Gundy transferred from Yale to Nazareth to get more hoops burn, a decision that I imagine a lot of people questioned at the time, and it worked out OK for him .

Interesting factoid...didn't know that. 

Checked the Yale archive site quickly and JVG's name doesn't appear on any roster from 1979-1985.  (JVG is 54 so I assume he graduated in '84).  Assume this means he didn't make the squad.  These teams weren't exactly powerhouses either ('81: 7-19; '82: 13-13; '83: 12-14; '84: 7-19). But as you mention the decision clearly worked out OK for him (though I can't imagine what his parents thought at the time).

[nescac1]

Yeah, from what I remember he wanted to play hoops, couldn't make the squad or at least make much of an impact at Yale, so went the D3 route so he could play and then ended up as a top-tier D3 player before embarking on his coaching career.  Like you said, I'm guessing his parents were not delighted at the time ...

[amh63]

Sort of an out of the blue topic....JVG.   Which one?  Are we talking wrt the former NBA coach for the Orlando franchise?   If so, than my sister in law did the landscape design in Orlando area.

[nescac1]

Congrats to Eph hoops alum Will Hardy '10 for his promotion to Spurs' assisstant coach.  There is probably no better place in the world to be a young coach than under the tutelage of Gregg Popovich, who is in my view the biggest class act in all of sports (and a dude who truly gets it -- after all, he used to coach in D3!).  Hardy's future is very, very bright.

http://www.nba.com/2016/news/09/16/san-antonio-spurs-monty-williams-vp-basketball-operations.ap/

[Old Guy]

There doesn't seem to be a lot of downside to the shorter pre-season, honestly.  The players across D3 play hoops informally throughout the offseason in all events, so it doesn't really affect conditioning or skill development.  I do think the first weekend of the season, NESCAC teams are at a slight disadvantage because they are still getting organized, in terms of understanding the coach's system, relative to peers.  But after a few weeks, it all levels out.  And NESCAC teams' success (since 2003, the NESCAC has collectively averaged about one Final Four appearance per year, including three titles and four second-place finishes) suggests that the conference isn't really being hurt by the late start.  Perhaps formal practice is a bit overrated when the season is SO long to begin with??

cf Middlebury last year - 5-5 at the holiday break: NESCAC champs

[Old Guy]

One potential impact frosh for Amherst has had a change of heart. Jamil Gambari has decided to enroll at Hampton University as a walk-on instead of Amherst.
Word is the decision was driven by a desire to play division 1 basketball and a concern that Amherst didn't have a business program (a fact that hasn't seemed to hurt the careers of countless successful business men and women with an Amherst degree). Interestingly enough his high school, prep school and even the Hampton coach have allegedly advised him Amherst would provide the best playing time and education opportunities for him.
Too bad, I was looking forward to seeing that athleticism on the court but best of luck to him. Looking forward to fall pick-up updates.
[/quote]

Maybe looked at the Amherst roster and saw 15 good players but only one basketball

[Old Guy]

There doesn't seem to be a lot of downside to the shorter pre-season, honestly.  The players across D3 play hoops informally throughout the offseason in all events, so it doesn't really affect conditioning or skill development.  I do think the first weekend of the season, NESCAC teams are at a slight disadvantage because they are still getting organized, in terms of understanding the coach's system, relative to peers.  But after a few weeks, it all levels out. 

While I agree that things level out after a few weeks, the shorter pre-season can definitely impact the early games.  Last year Bowdoin had a very young team with many FY's playing significant minutes.  Their first game of the season was against WCSU  - and Bowdoin looked like a team that only had 2 weeks of practice with several FY's in the rotation.  Great effort from everyone but it was rough - especially on defense where FY's not only have to adapt to a new system but now have to defend opponents who are generally, bigger, faster and more skilled than they have seen before.

Midd's pre-Christmas schedule is usually brutal

[Old Guy]

My wife and I travelled to Spain with the Williams team last week. It was a great trip, lots of highlights for everyone involved. The team had almost no practice before engaging in three games with Spanish opponents. The Ephs played very well. It is clear that Daniel Aronowitz has continued to improve, and will be a force in the NESCAC. Cole Teal will be a high scoring guard, as will soph Bob Casey. The center position will be interesting to watch, as Marcos Soto, and Michael Kempton had their moments. Kyle Scadlock looks to be much better than he was last year, so I am very encouraged about the Eph season.

The best part is that Jane and I have continued our tour of Europe in France this week. Bon apitite!

Williams will be in the mix at the top of the league net year. Very talented, now a year older. Scadlock!.

[nescac1]

Since it's quiet and likely will be for the next month, here are my thoughts on the dozen teams to watch in New England (subject to change based on injuries, defections, reports of impact newcomers, etc.).

Babson and Amherst both look like legit Final Four contenders and should both start the season in the pre-season top ten, nationally.  Amherst of course brings everyone back from the Final Four team save for Green, adds some strong recruits, and is an extremely experienced team loaded with 3 and 4 year contributors.  I feel like Amherst had a bit of good fortune to make it to Salem last year thanks to key injuries suffered by Tufts and Babson in the post-season, but this year's team looks absolutely loaded.  As loaded as Amherst looks, I think Babson deserves to the be top-ranked New England team heading into the season and a legit candidate for overall number one.  Babson had some bad luck with injuries, but Flannery is a national POY candidate and Nelsen is a very quality second banana.  Lots of size, strength, and tremendous experience with fellow seniors Rice, Droney, Stauffer and Bohmiller and juniors Jacks and Comenale all playing big roles.  Plus Colon could be a break-out player off the bench.  Babson looks primed for a big year, great depth and size, and with such a senior-dominated team, they should be very motivated. 

After those two, I think there is a big and closely-grouped second tier:

-- Middlebury: the defending NESCAC champs should be confident from their late-season run and only lose one player of consequence (albeit a key one on the sporadic occasions that he was fully healthy).  Daly, Brown and St. Amour are as tough a backcourt trio as you will find anywhere, especially on the defensive end, but Midd will only go far if its young big guys make major strides. Still, Midd will likely not need to win NESCAC to make the dance this year. 

-- Williams: except for the two Amherst games, all of the Ephs' remaining eight losses last year went down to the last possession or two.  On the other hand, only one of the Ephs' wins came on the last possession of the game.  No huge surprise that the Ephs struggled to keep their composure late with such a young team (and in particular a very green and thin backcourt once Greenman got injured and with Galvin consistently banged up), including often playing 3 or 4 frosh together.  With nearly everyone back, a talented group of frosh coming in, and a loaded sophomore class ready to make major strides, the Ephs should be back in the thick of things in NESCAC and the region. 

-- Trinity: loses four starters including the NESCAC POY but returns one of the best players in the region in Ogundeko.  Will need a lot of help from young players but the Bants underclassmen are legit.  Hardest team to predict but could be very good depending on how fast the young guards grow up.

-- Tufts: this all depends on how quickly Pace returns.  If he is 100 percent by mid-season, the Tufts have the best one-two punch in New England and maybe one of the best in the country.  If not, a ton rides on Palleschi's shoulders.  Smith is much better off as a third option than a second option. 

-- Keene State: Ryan Cain did a fantastic job leading Keene on a surprise Sweet 16 run.  They lose their big guy but still look like the class of the Little East, although ..

-- Eastern Connecticut is not far behind, and always in the mix regionally ... Eastern Conn loses some key guys but Tarchee Brown and Hugh Lindo are a great duo to build around. 

-- WPI: WPI will be WPI -- grind out lots of close, ugly wins through sheer guts, depth, effort and defense, squeeze into the NCAAs, and lose in the first two rounds to a more talented team.

-- MIT: like Williams a team that was lead by a great frosh class and should be better just by virtue of experience.  MIT is always hard to predict though until seeing the roster since there is often unpredictable attrition due to the academic grind

-- Albertus Magnus: after a down year by their standards, should once again dominate the GNAC with a far more veteran team and, likely, another infusion of talented transfers.

-- And a dark horse, Brandeis: yes, they had a very down year going 9-16, and they really collapsed down the stretch.  But they had a few quality wins (Emory, at Wash U), played a tough UAA schedule plus Babson and Amherst, and return every player of note from a young team.  Cooper and Vilmont are both excellent players and they just need a third option to emerge.  I think they will be much improved. 

[gordonmann]

Good stuff. Thanks for posting that.

[D3HoopJunkie]

+K to Nescac1

Great post! Always nice to get someone else viewpoint on the state of the Northeast powers.

I was bouncing around a few websites and noticed that Babson and Albertus Magnus are squaring off in the first game of the season for both squads. This should be an outstanding matchup. As an Albertus supporter I couldn't be happier to see them matchup early on here in the season regardless of the outcome. This game will certainly showcase two very different styles of play and coaching. The game is slated for Tuesday November 15th at 7PM.

I know Babson is not in the NESCAC but they have met up with NESCAC teams in the past. Does anyone know if they have a webcast for their home games? If so how is the quality and is there usually play by play commentary as well?

[middhoops]

Thanks, hats off and +k to nescac1.
Nobody does a better job of staying informed on teams in (and out) of the region.
I was looking forward to the Amherst/Babson game in December already, but now....can't wait.

[jayhawk]

nice note by NESCAC1
appreciate the perspective
Joey Flannery is an extremely smooth and talented player
In the game with Amherst in playoffs  it was tight and he was starting to play at high level

As far as AmherstI think the freshman may have an impact in one particular area, outside shooting
Jeff Racy was by far the most reliable shooter but he feel into a bit of a funk near the end of the season but began to come over it
Otherwise the game to game consistency seemed to be lacking.
All of the four freshman this year appear to have a very consistent shooting percentage from the 3 point range.
Quite possible that Eric Sellew might take some of Connor Green's minutes. He appears to have a versatile outside, inside game with solid outside shooting and good ballhandling skills for a big game
Jon Chery is an intriguing player who is sort of a point small forward with strength, dribbling, and outside shooting
A number of NESCAC bring in quality frosh, should be a good season