MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Wesleyan roster is very interesting:

http://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/mbkb/2017-18/roster

Four guys with eligibility left are missing, most notably Salim Green.  I figured after struggling wth injuries, he was primed for a breakout Junior year.  Almost the entire roster, and likely the entire rotation, is between 6'4 and 6'7.  If they switch liberally they could be a nightmare to score against, with five sort of interchangeable, big physical guys on D. O'Brien and Sears for example can guard all five positions.   There is not really a point guard in the bunch other than a frosh, but O'Brien is basically a point forward. 

The biggest issue: Wesleyan wasn't much of a three point shooting team last year, and without Rafferty, Green and Gardiner, another shooter who didn't return, they could really struggle to put up points from the outside (only 2.4 made threes per game from the returning players).  Perimeter ball-handing is also a question mark.   I'd anticipate a lot of physical, low-scoring slogs involving the Cards this year.

A few other thoughts on Wesleyan: (1) with Garidner gone, the odds of them landing a player on the all-hair team are substantially diminished; (2) Jordan Bonner could put up big numbers -- he should get a ton of shot attempts; and (3) the roster could be perilously thin if there are any injuries -- only 13 guys, three of whom are frosh and one of whom is a football player new to the squad.   

[D3HforLyfe]

Man, what a hit for Wesleyan that Green won't be playing this season.

While this certainly changes things, as I was predicting a big year from Green, I don't think it will hurt as much as some people think mostly due to the versatility of Kevin O'Brien. While I had Green slotted in as this team's starting PG day one, it might make the Cardinals more interesting now with O'Brien presumably their starting point guard full time for the very reason that NESCAC1 pointed out - this team will play even bigger and longer defensively than they were already planning on. O'Brien, Bonner, Sears, Krill, Bascom? Good luck to opposing teams scoring against them. However, NESCAC1, you are also correct - it could be very ugly on offense for these guys. They are going to have to push the tempo and use their defense to ignite a lot of their offense because it is going to be awfully cramped in the paint for them as I imagine teams will pack it in when it comes to the half court. They will probably see a lot of zone as well.

Big, big year for Bonner if he can stay healthy. The Cards will need it.

[D3HforLyfe]

(9) Bowdoin - (Jack Simonds voice) "Someone please help!!" (...)

I don't mean to discredit the rest of the Polar Bears because I actually really like these guys. They are a scrappy bunch, and I find myself rooting for them an odd amount considering that I have no connection to BC (other than, maybe, a subconscious indebtedness to Reed Hastings for what Netflix has done for our world). Hugh O'Neil was a double-double machine as a sophomore (came a hair short of averaging one as he finished at 10.0 PPG and 9.8 RPG) and the small, but griddy backcourt of Tim Ahn and Jack Bors was* fun (was* = I read that Tim Ahn isn't playing this season. Sad news, that guy was entertaining to watch play basketball). David Reynolds also deserves a shout out for his freshman effort where he averaged 10 PPG and 4 RPG. With that said, let's call a spade a spade: It was very much a one-man show for NESCAC legend Tim Gilbride's squad in 2016-2017. Early on in non-conference play Simonds was able to find success that saw him have multiple 30 point games, and consistently score in the 20s. Bowdoin wasn't winning every game, but they were playing well (perhaps highlighted by a battle @Babson that they eventually lost very respectably, 78-74). The relative success continued as Simonds even led Bowdoin to an 81-71 home win over Williams with a 32-point performance (it should be noted that this was a very different looking Ephs team then the one that made the trip to Salem). However, as the the conference slate continued and team's keyed in more and more, Simonds quickly faded and so did the Bowdoin season. It was soon realized that to beat Bowdoin you just had to stop Simonds. Following the Williams win, in their final 8 games, Bowdoin when 3-5 and their star only tallied more than 15 points twice, sometimes even attempting single digit shots. I'm not sure if he was hurt, but it was a very strange way to end the season.

So why didn't the Simonds system work as well as previous one-man operations in New Brunswick did for the likes of Lucas Hausman or, even, Will Hanley? Well, actually those operations didn't go so well either when you break it down. Hausman, while finding extraordinary individual success during his senior season, actually only led the PB's to a 7th place regular season finish, a NESCAC Quarters exit, and an overall record of 12-11. The previous season -- Hausman's breakout junior year that saw him capture 'CAC POY -- for which saw Bowdoin finish 2nd in the regular season standings and advance to the NESCAC final four, was by no means a one-man show. In fact, one like myself could actually strongly argue that Bowdoin's most important player that season was the folklore of John Swords who allowed for the PB's to run a suffocating extended 2-3 zone that turned minimal defensive effort into easy fast break opportunities for Hausman, a dynamic transition player, on the other end. And prior to his junior season, Hausman was simply a role player on a deep PBs team that advanced to the NCAA tournament behind a balanced attack of Swords, Madlinger, Mathias, and Pieri.
For those still not convinced that the one-man shows at Bowdoin are ineffective, let's go back another 4-year class to the Hanley years. In his first two years, he played alongside all-conference talent in Kyle Jackson and Mark Phillips and they were able to creep up as far as 5 in the NESCAC standings. Without those two, in his junior and senior years, Bowdoin missed the playoffs once and finishing 6th the other year. I saw Hanley play live his senior year (against St. Joe's College), and he was forced to do many of the same things that Simonds was forced to do last year.
This is all said on top of that I don't think Simonds is as talented as Hausman or Hanley. Simonds is very good, and only just about to begin his junior year so maybe he has more in the tank that will make me bite my tongue, but those two were great. Hanley has blossomed into perhaps the NESCAC's most successful professional overseas player, currently playing in Portugal's highest division (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Hanley -- yup, Wikipedia official) , and Hausman, after his legendary final two years in the 'CAC (i'll never forget that game against Bates where he had 20FGM), is currently still working his way up the European ranks as well. I dont know if Simonds has those capabilities.
But maybe this is unfair to Simonds. Like I just proved, those two had considerably better supporting casts at different parts of their career than Simonds is likely to have at any point of his short four year window at Bowdoin. And this is what makes comparing players, particularly in different eras, in basketball so hard. There are so many different factors that go into the type of career that a player has in college basketball, maybe more variables than any other sport. Obviously, coaching and teammates are ubiquitous variables that greatly affect an individual's ability in all team sports, but in basketball the movement and ability of all five guys on the court at any given time constantly changes any player's ability to do anything. So much of one's success is so situationally based that, while fun, it is hard to ever actually compare anybody with any accuracy, in my opinion. It is all so so subjective.
I've gotten a bit off track. My point in backtracking to the Hausman and Hanley was really just trying to speak into the larger, somewhat obvious, narrative that no one at Bowdoin, or perhaps anywhere else in the NESCAC, has ever done it alone. If one of the older heads has a case for someone who was able to carry an average team to prominence (my best example in all of college hoops is Kemba Walker-UConn in 2011), please bring it forward. The reality, as I see it, is that if someone was good enough to lead an average team to a championship with only marginal role players around him though, they probably wouldn't be playing in the NESCAC to begin with.

And with that, I don't think this is a playoff team, no matter how well Simonds plays. Gilbride is a good coach who has seen it all in this league so maybe he has something up his sleeve. Maybe Reynolds is capable of having a big sophomore season and emerging as Simonds' partner in crime. Maybe they have a recruit similar to Swords in that he changes the entire landscape of what they do. Regardless of whether something of any of those sorts comes to fruition, Bowdoin is always a team to watch out for. They will junk up games and do some quirky things that will give them potential to upset people like they improbably did at Amherst last season (Editor's Correction: They didn't win this game, and it is still unclear to both parties how. League administrators are investigating McCarthy and LeFrak, a place where it seems stuff like this happens a strange amount in favor of the Mammoths). More often than not though, particularly come conference play, I don't think these guys are in a good position. Bowdoin fans, go enjoy Stranger Things and maybe read some Hawthorne or Longfellow, I predict a long winter for the PBs.

[nescac1]

Regarding notable teams dominated by a transcendent individual talent, I submit Danny and the Miracles (Kansas / Danny Manning 1988 national champs). In D3, Jeff Gibbs, Otterbein 2002 — the best 6'1 center you'll ever see, simply unstoppable.  Of course those teams had other talent, but they were defined by their stars ...

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Regarding notable teams dominated by a transcendent individual talent, I submit Danny and the Miracles (Kansas / Danny Manning 1988 national champs). In D3, Jeff Gibbs, Otterbein 2002 — the best 6'1 center you'll ever see, simply unstoppable.  Of course those teams had other talent, but they were defined by their stars ...

Anyone who knows me knows I talk about Jeff Gibbs often. Simply amazing especially since he is shorter than I (6-2), though not listed as such. LOL

[middhoops]

Absolutely fantastic piece on Bowdoin, D3HfL.

+k

[P'bearfan]

D3HfL - great review of Bowdoin +K. 

Agree with you that a one-man show won't get it done in Brunswick this season.  The good news is that there are several players who could provided the needed offensive support:  Jack Bors; Liam Farley; David Reynolds and Hugh O'Neil each had a few games last season with impressive point totals.  The Polar Bears don't need all four of them to score in double digits every night but they probably need two of them to do it - and to have the opponent seriously worry about the other two.  If this happens, Simonds won't face as many double teams and the floor will open up for O'Neil down low.

The other challenge Bowdoin will face is on defense.  If you lack offensive fire power you better be able to slow-down, if not shut down, your opponent.  Playing consistent defense has been a challenge the last two seasons as Bowdoin has had a very young roster.  Generally, when they did play tighter team defense, they were more competitive.  While I'm clearly biased, this year's roster lacks a defensive leader and this could be the hidden challenge for them.

A number of things need to go right for Bowdoin this season but when they do, the Polar Bears will be competitive.

Looking forward to the season.

GoUBears!!

[ContinentalDomer]

Here's the Hamilton roster:  http://athletics.hamilton.edu/sports/mbkb/2017-18/roster

No surprises.

[polbear73]

Unbelievable Bowdoin preview. This guy's good! I also agree with P'bearfan in that Bowdoin does have some players that could very well surprise on the offensive end. Defense seems to remain a challenge, however.

[nescac1]

Figure I'll take a shot as well as pre-season rankings (albeit not in as impressively as D3HFL, wow!).  I am higher on Midd, Hamilton and Bowdoin than he is ...

1. Williams: Scadlock emerged as a major star in the post-season last year, and while there is no obvious number two behind him, Williams is big, deep, balanced and experienced.  Heskett and Karpowicz are both candidates for break-out years, Kempton really emerged on both ends (especially defense) in the NCAA tournament, and Teal, Greenman, Galvin, and Casey are a very experienced, rock-solid backcourt who offer great ball-handling, leadership and ample three point shooting -- which should be improved as teams are going to have to pay a lot more attention to the interior threats on the roster this year.  The Ephs' only weakness in my view is perimeter quickness -- without Aronowitz, they lack a penetrating guard who can consistently create on his own off the dribble, and they may again have a tough time defending backcourts with exceptional quickness.  Still, the Ephs look like a legit title contender due to their size, depth, skill and experience. 

2. Middlebury: the Panthers figure to be a bit down from last year after losing so much offensive firepower, but Jack Daly is a two-way star and tough as nails at the point guard, and the Panthers are tough, deep and experienced up front  Folger by all accounts seems primed for a big year as a go-to guy.  The question is, where will the perimeter scoring from, but there are no shortage of options, at least: DeLorenzo has deeeep range, Dahlel is back, and the frosh guards sound ready to make contributions early.  How good they are, how early in their careers, will determine Midd's upside. 

3. Tufts: Tufts loses more than folks seem to be recognizing with their lofty pre-season rankings, in my view.   Tarik Smith was tremendous as a senior, Palleschi was a rock on both end anchoring the middle, Madsen was a solid back-up, and the transfer of Ethan Feldman takes away their most efficient perimeter scorer.   Still, there is a lot of talent remaining, led by a loaded senior class, and another heralded group of recruits.  Now back to 100 percent health, Vincent Pace may be the best player in the league.   Eric Savage could have a big year too and I see him as the second-leading scorer.  Tufts should be an NCAA team but whether they can make another deep tourney run depends on how effectively they can protect the rim with a small, green group up front. 

4. Hamilton: for reasons I've written about before, I am very high on Hamilton this year.  Very few teams in the country have a group of wings as talented as Gilmour, Hoffmann, Grassey, Doyle, and incoming recruits Washington and Kendall.  And all those guys are around for the next two years!  Dwyer and Conn are a great table-setting duo at the point.  Hamilton loses no major impact players to graduation and is a far more experienced squad.  If their frosh big man can give them a few solid minutes behind Groll off the bench, that would address their biggest hole.  I see Hamilton with a good shot of making the NCAAs this year, and an even better one next year. 

5. Amherst: honestly, Amherst could end up anywhere from 1 through 8 and it would not surprise me.  Hixon almost always reloads, rather than rebuilds.  There are lots of heralded players on the roster.  But it's hard to put them above five to start the season given how little in the way of proven production returns.  The talent is clearly there, but how long will it take to all come together?  If the PGs merely are average as table-setters, and Mobley and Clapp, who both have big-time perimeter scoring talent, combine to give the Mammoths some major punch off the bench, they will light it up on offense.  Defense may be a bigger question mark early but McCarthy we know is a lock-down defender.  Still, if you want him to mark the best player every game, that risks foul trouble and tiring him out, so ideally Riopel -- who has the chops to do so -- will ascend to the role of top scorer. 

Now time for the Maine/Connecticut division:

6. Bowdoin: the Polar Bears are on the rise, but I still think probably one more year away from contention.  I almost dropped them down in light of Tim Ahn not playing but in view Jack Simonds is a legit superstar and my pick to lead Nescac in scoring now that he has had a year to adjust to being (a bit prematurely, really) the go-to guy.  Hugh O'Neal is now one of the best centers in the league and there is a lot of shooting on the wing.  Reynolds should be a solid number two option on offense as a sophomore.  Bohrs isn't as quick or savvy as Ahn, but is stronger and bulkier and Bowdoin will now be bigger on D as he (presumably) moves to the point full time with Farley at the two.  KJ Matte could be an impact guard off the bench as well.  That plus just being a more experienced team should help their defense.  I really like this team for next year especially if Ahn returns, but still I think the PBs are a year away from being a threat to make a NESCAC final or earn an NCAA slot. 

7. Wesleyan: I initially had Wesleyan higher but after seeing the roster come out, I dropped them a bit.  Rafferty's hot shooting caried them in a few games last year, and Joseph Kuo's physical interior presence will also be missed.  Salim Green was poised for a big year and his (unexplained) absence will be felt, and one or two other potential rotation guys aren't back, as well.  The shooting on this team could be brutal unless a few young gunners really emerge.  The roster is thin and they will need good luck with injuries, another concern.  Wesleyan is physical, athletic, and big across the board, and they will as usual not be fun to play against.  They will hustle, get offensive rebounds, and create turnovers.  But floor spacing will be an issue with three non-shooters in the likely starting lineup, and they lack any clear go-to scorer after Bonner, who will get a lot of attention from defenses.  Still, they are athletic and big enough to cause problems for anyone in the league -- but offensively challenged enough to lose to anyone, too. 

8. Trinity: to me, they are very similar to Wesleyan this year, and may have a bit of a down year by Trinity standards with only one senior contributor on the roster.  As always they will be tough as nails, scrappy, athletic and deep.  And even more than usual, they will really struggle to score vs. the better teams on the schedule.  Ogundeko is the biggest loss to graduation in the league — he anchored last year's team in every way, creating so many second shot opportunities and being a force on D and the boards.  Chris Turnbull was also a solid, reliable shooter, an underappreciated player who will be missed.  And Neal was an ace defender at the point.  Trinity has a bunch of big name recruits over the past few year who have accrued fairly modest stats to date — if two of Seretta, Bell, Padmore and Merinder can emerge as go-to scorers, Trinity will end up a few spots higher.  If not, though, it's hard to see where the points come from beyond Jeremy Arthur or Eric Gendron, both of whom are solid players, but not major scoring stars. 

9. Bates: I like the perimeter depth and talent on this team.  Getting Strickland back is big and Gilpin, Coyne and especially Spellman - who could have a big year - should be much improved as sophomores.  But wow will they ever be small across the board.  If Nick Lynch can be a solid, dependable starter at the 5, Bates could easily end up as high as sixth; their backcourt production should be SO much better without relying so much on frosh.  But after years of the Delpeches bullying everybody, Bates will likely be outsized at nearly every position and they could struggle to defend the rim and rebound this year (a familiar problem around the league).  Bates, still a young team like the other two Maine squads, is probably building for next year at this point. 

10. Colby: the Mules should be improved just because sophomores are better than frosh, and they get a few good players (Dickert and Karalekas) back from injury.  I like Strahorn as a coach — Colby never quits and always wins one or two games they have no business winning (often vs. Amherst, for some reason).  If you take them lightly, they will burn you.  But the reality is, they just don't have the talent or experience to come close to contending this year.  In another year or two, though, the Mules could be back. 

11. Conn College: I just don't understand what the story is with Coach Satran.  He is good enough as a recruiter -- he brings in solid talent more years despite a challenging recruiting situation.  And he's a good enough floor coach -- when they do have talent, Conn's offense always creates plenty of open shots on the perimeter.  But man, year after year, very good players defect from the program.  Conn lost its entire starting frontcout to graduation, which is bad enough, but to lose the starting backcourt, including star Tyler Rowe, to attrition, is just a brutal blow.  Once again, a rebuilding year led by a lot of young players in New London.  Could be a long season ...

[nescac1]

On another note, a bit off topic, but here are a few highlights from Jeff Gibbs in his pro days.  Again, the dude is a 6'1 true center.  So fun to watch -- his combo of long arms, quickness, strength, jumping ability, abilty to finish from crazy angles, and a rear end that could clear a lot of space made him seem more like 6'8.  If Andrew Olson was the Steve Nash of D3, and Mike Nogelo the Larry Bird, Gibbs was definitely the Charles Barkley.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kY4flo_zNE

[D3HforLyfe]

NESCAC1 - Love the review (per usual)!

After almost two weeks of really thinking about these teams individually (as you can tell by my obnoxiously long previews) and finding out some roster changes on the fly as I went along, I may reshuffle my rankings a bit at the last second before the games begin on Friday. 

Some points I liked from your post:
*Glad we are on the same page (as most) that Williams seems to be a true title contender.
*I definitely may be too high on Tufts (and may move them down a few spots). I am blinded by the Dayton/Pace backcourt for which I love, but this team does have some major question marks, particularly down low w/o Palleschi and Madsen
*I have a similarly tough time trying to predict Amherst and where they end up. Don't know what to make out of this crew, but they have a star and they are Amherst so I'm likely going to keep them high.

AND lastly, but way more importantly, those Jeff Gibbs highlights are incredible. What a player, wish I could have had the chance to watch him in his heyday. Wow...

[amh63]

A little help has been provided by Coach Hixon today.  A writeup but no roster update yet...not really needed..is available on the Amherst MBB website.  The players are identified at their expected positions.  As I mentioned in earlier posts, it will be a TEAM that has firepower inside and outside.  Senior Captains are scorers and can rebound with the best and one can play defense with the best.
The HC appears to have a positive feeling working with his young players in the writeup.  His newest assistant was a defensive hardworking player for Coach Hixon and a HC for many years.  The other assistant is Toomey who we all know is a backcourt scorer and two-time D3 POY.  All coaches know what it takes to win ...and I expect Hixon will get his 800th Win this season.
First game will Be this Friday.

[D3HforLyfe]

(10) Connecticut College - 2010-2011 was the last time the Camels made the NESCAC tournament. For a split second last season, I thought they were eyeing their way back. They had talent and a team that, at least on paper, seemed to mesh well. The backcourt trio of Tyler Rowe, David Labossiere, and Lee Messier combined a lightning quick playmaking guard with a jack-of-all-trades scorer and a dead-eye shooter. The frontcourt had a four-year double-double in Zuri Pavlin, a skilled and big body D2 transfer in Daniel Janel, and respectable depth with Pascoe, Robinson, and Leotsakos. There seemed like there was real light this time. Then, as the season progressed, they fell right back into classic Conn College form. Now it looks as if their competitive window may have once again shut. Pavlin, Janel, and Pascoe graduated and Tyler Rowe and Lee Messier will not be suiting up this season, for much different individual reasons. That leaves an extraordinary gap to fill that, while I once again don't know their recruiting class all too well, will more likely than not take time to repair. 

Breaking down their personnel is hard because of so many departures, new faces, and guys that haven't played any meaningful NESCAC minutes. The 2017-2018 Camels have 18 guys on their roster for which is the largest that I have seen so far. One of the only definite bright sides I see to their situation resides in their two most significant returners, David Labossiere and Isaiah Robinson. Labossiere, a junior from The Brimmer & May School (MA), has good size, length, and athleticism for a D3 wing and I expect him to have a major leap in statistical production this season. He averaged an identical 11.3 PPG both his freshman and sophomore seasons (40/31/74 splits in 2016-2017), but, with the departure of a ball-dominant guard and a quick trigger shooter, it is fair to assume that he is going to get A LOT more touches this winter. Robinson is an old-school, undersized forward who I also expect to make a significant statistical jump with a much heightened role in the line-up as well. Robinson started 19 of the 20 games that he played in his freshman year, but saw a decline in minutes each of the last two seasons after Janel beat him out at his position. Now a senior and alone up front, Robinson will be asked to lead a young and inexperienced forward platoon against the rest of the NESCAC.
Outside of Labossiere and Robinson, it gets very murky. Aaron Swenson is a senior, and a good-steady guard who will likely start, at least early on, at point. I am tempted to predict a big year out of him just out of respect for the mustache he is rocking in his team profile picture (epic --www.camelathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/bios/swenson_aaron_n0ox?view=career&pos=sh ), but the reality of the situation is that Swenson has shown an almost unprecedented ability to not shoot almost ever over his first three year at CC. Last year, the passivity peaked when he shot a TOTAL of 14 shots in 269 minutes of game action. In terms of statistical anomalies, this goes up there with Connor Gach (Amherst, 2012-2013)** as one of the best I've seen in the past at least  half decade of 'CAC hoops. All joking aside, if Swenson is going to play substantial minutes he is going to have to be more aggressive if he wants to give the Camels the best chance to win. Phil Leotsakos, a junior, is built like a greek god, but was mainly used as a defensive specialist last year. I expect him to start and play more substantial minutes, and it will be interesting to see if he can bring anything to the table offensively. If I had to pick a non-rotational guy from last season to step up, I would go with Jason Bird who was a good scorer at the prep school ranks in his time at Tabor Academy. A smooth guard, he barely played at all during his freshman season, but will likely be thrown into the fire under the current conditions in New London.

   It is year 15 for Coach Tom Satran at the helm for the Camels, and I hope he can turn this ship back around sometime soon. He is Connecticut College through and through, after have a good playing career in NL and also being an assistant during the Glen Miller glory days, so you know it must kill him to struggle this mightily to find any sort of success as far as winning and losing goes. I'm not going to pretend to know what really is going on behind the scenes, but there are clearly some foundational problems that need to be fixed. As we have seen at other programs, winning breeds winning and things can change quickly. Satran just needs to string together a couple of good classes of talent to really buy into what he is trying to build and suddenly they could have it rolling again. Babson is a great example of this - 23 year Head Coach Stephen Brennan had been stuck in mediocrity since the 2004-2005 season but slowly built it back up around the turn of the decade before the arrival of one recruit in the fall of 2013. Now, after a historic 4-year Joey Flannery fueled run for which culminated with a national championship, it seems that the Babson Basketball program is very well positioned to stay atop the Division III landscape for at least another three or four years with a great core of returners and a slew of Division I transfers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_9fXJOjfIo). Unfortunately, like I assume just about everyone else, I don't see that happening any time in the immediate future for Satran, but my point is that the flip can happen fast and often does when we least expect it. Hang in there Camel fans. Your time will come. 

**For those who don't remember or don't know the legend of Connor Gach, he was a role player for Amherst during the Toomey years who during his senior season did not attempt a 2-point shot until the NESCAC Semifinals when he ill-advisedly took, and appropriately missed, an unnecessary pull-up deep late two in a blowout win against Trinity to end the streak. He took another 2-pointer in the first round of the NCAAs (in a win versus York (NY)), and ended the season 23-49 overall from the field and 23-47 from three. A man who played before his time, some could say Gach set the tone for future D1 shooters who took exclusively threes like Max Hooper (Oakland U) and Josh Kozinski (Central Michigan), whether they know it or not.
Any other statistical anomalies that we can think of that go in the Gach, Swenson category?

[nescac1]

D3HforLyfe, glad you enjoyed the Gibbs highlights -- just such a unique talent.  He put up a 25-25 in the national title game as a senior!  Again, at 6'1, simply incredible. 

A few tidbits from around New England:

The Tufts newspaper notes that KJ Garrett is currently out with a hand injury and that Ben Engval tour his ACL this summer.  Although Engval is expected to play in the second semester, it's hard to imagine he could contribute a ton on such a short recovery timeline.  Tough blows for the Tufts to have two of their more physical guys out, although it sounds like Garrett is not out for too long.  An undersized team, without those two forwards, will be at a disadvantage to start the year and they will likely face Wash U. this weekend, which is massive and deep up front.  I'd look for the Jumbos to REALLY push the pace in that one and try to stay out of a half-court game. 

https://tuftsdaily.com/sports/2017/11/16/mens-basketball-seasoned-jumbos-set-tip-off-new-season-st-louis/ 

A few of what figure to be the top New England teams outside of NESCAC had impressive opening-night showing:

-- Babson blew out Lasell and their three D1 transfers look like the real deal: they combined for 37 points and 14 boards on 15-22 shooting in only 22 minutes each.  Babson figures to be a tough match-up once again for the several NESCAC squads who play them

-- Nichols put up 117 points on Newbury.  Granted, it's Newbury, so doesn't really tell you much, and it will be interesting to see how they fare at Trinity and Wesleyan later this month.  They have some electric guards on offense, and their offense vs. the Trinity/Wesleyan's perimeter defenders should be a VERY fun matchup. 

-- Springfield won behind a massive game from Jake Ross, who I think will be the best player in the region this year ... 26-13-3-3-2, 11-18 from the field.  He is EASILY a scholarship-level talent.

-- MIT blew out Bridgewater State, which is usually a decent team.  They also hung tough with a very talented Harvard team in an exhibition.  MIT frosh Hamilton Forsythe put up 29 points on 8-10 shooting from 3 in his first college game!  Forsythe scored 13, including 3-7 from deep, vs. Harvard as well, so MIT might have found something there (I don't believe he was a heralded recruit).  MIT looks poised for a big year despite having no seniors no the roster -- very different from the typical big, bruising MIT squads, this team is smaller and guard-oriented.   

-- Speaking of sharp-shooting frosh, Swarthmore's Conor Harkins, out of Connecticut, put up 27 points on 9-16 from 3 in his own college debut.  How did all those New England liberal arts colleges let Harkins (who WAS a heraled recruit) get away??  If he can get admitted at Swarthmore, he is admissible anywhere ...

Eastern Conn and AMC are two other New England teams to watch in my view, but neither was in action last night.