MBB: NESCAC

[P'bearfan]

New poll.  http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/men/2017-18/week-1

Amherst and Bowdoin got in.  Tufts, Wesleyan, and Hamilton: not quite.

Congrats to the Polar Bears! Keep up the great play.

[nescac1]

Wow, surprised Bowdoin rose from no votes into the top 25.  As I noted earlier, given how weak their schedule is over the next month or two, Bowdoin has an opportunity to gradually rise higher in the poll if they win the games they are favored in.  Wesleyan (which I think has a top 25 resume already) would almost surely crack the top 25 with a win over Williams on Saturday (which obviously I hope doesn't happen!).  And Hamilton has a path towards there as well.  It's not inconceivable to imagine NESCAC, if Tufts rebounds and posts a few big wins over the next few weeks, to end up with as many as 6 or a slim chance of POSSIBLY 7 teams in the top 25 by January 1.  And I think that getting 5 squads in at least one top 25 poll is pretty likely.   Of course, once conference play starts, things will change quickly as all those teams start to beat up on each other. 

I put Paulsen as my NESCAC-transfer coach not out of disrespect for Maker, but just because Paulsen has the better record and coaches a team at a higher level of D1 play.  Despite Maker's struggles at Marist (a situation I have no idea about), I still think he is an elite coaching strategist and one of, if not the best, offensive mind I've seen in D3.  He was certainly able to attract some great players (Duncan Robinson, Dan Wohl, Mike Mayer, Hayden Rooke Ley, Taylor Epley, Nate Robertson, James Klemm, Dan Aronowitz) to Williams, but it seems recruiting to Marist has proven to be tougher sledding for him. 

[frank uible]

Dare it be said again? You are what the scoreboard says you are!

[amh63]

Frank U...your brevity is most refreshing here.  Pleased it is NOT in Latin, as I was Not a Jesuit school trained student . Plus K

[FanOfNescac]

Not to be a stickler here, but I believe the original Parcells quote was: ``You are what your record says you are.'' (Not the scoreboard, although, obviously, the interpretation is the same).

[amh63]

FanOfNescac...there is a strong possibility that the HC of the Patriots may have adopted the "phrase" from Frank U. of old. Both former football players though one is a Wes alum and the other a Williams alum.
To the board topic at hand.  Lots of CAC teams have games tonight.  Curious to see if some of them play up to the latest rankings. 
Me, will be catching the Amherst WBB game.  Maybe, because of the game times, will peek at some mens' games.
FYI, the Amherst MBB roster today feature "mug" shots of the team... with new UA jerseys.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

FanOfNescac...there is a strong possibility that the HC of the Patriots may have adopted the "phrase" from Frank U. of old. Both former football players though one is a Wes alum and the other a Williams alum.
To the board topic at hand.  Lots of CAC teams have games tonight.  Curious to see if some of them play up to the latest rankings. 
Me, will be catching the Amherst WBB game.  Maybe, because of the game times, will peek at some mens' games.
FYI, the Amherst MBB roster today feature "mug" shots of the team... with new UA jerseys.

Maybe I am wrong, but I thought the Patriots HC played lacrosse at Wesleyan, not football. At least that's how my father, the alum, tells it.

[FanOfNescac]

FanOfNescac...there is a strong possibility that the HC of the Patriots may have adopted the "phrase" from Frank U. of old. Both former football players though one is a Wes alum and the other a Williams alum.
To the board topic at hand.  Lots of CAC teams have games tonight.  Curious to see if some of them play up to the latest rankings. 
Me, will be catching the Amherst WBB game.  Maybe, because of the game times, will peek at some mens' games.
FYI, the Amherst MBB roster today feature "mug" shots of the team... with new UA jerseys.

Maybe I am wrong, but I thought the Patriots HC played lacrosse at Wesleyan, not football. At least that's how my father, the alum, tells it.

Dave... BB was primarily a lacrosse player (although not a star) at Wesleyan, but he also was a member of the football team.

[truenorth]

Just for clarification, it was former Patriots head coach Bill Parcells who uttered the now famous quote "You are what your record says you are".  Parcells enrolled at Colgate but ultimately graduated from Wichita State.

Current Patriots head coach Bill Belichick played both football and lacrosse at Wesleyan.

[FanOfNescac]

Just for clarification, it was former Patriots head coach Bill Parcells who uttered the now famous quote "You are what your record says you are".  Parcells enrolled at Colgate but ultimately graduated from Wichita State.

Current Patriots head coach Bill Belichick played both football and lacrosse at Wesleyan.

An echo!

[jumpshot]

Ephs up by 14 at the half vs. Vassar despite 6 turnovers, 9 missed 3-point attempts in the first 10 minutes.

[nescac1]

Williams cruises to a dominating 90-57 win over Vassar.  While Vassar is not a good team, the Ephs looked spectacular in the second half, showing what they can do when firing on all cylinders.  The first half was for the most part a tough one for Williams, as they got a bit out of sync due to foul trouble (two fouls each to Scadlock and Heskett), a minor injury to Karpowicz (he did return and looked fine), and too many rushed 3 point shots early in the shot clock.  Mike Greenman was by far the team's MVP, he looked VERY confident and was absolutely en fuego, draining 5-7 from VERY deep and adding a very difficult two ... 17 points, 3 assists, 2 boards, zero turnovers, by far his best game of the young season and great to really see him go off.  Hopefully he can keep it going -- and if Cole Teal can get hot as well, the Ephs are gonna be impossible to guard (it's already quite difficult). 

In the second half, the Ephs came out with a noticeable uptick in intensity and focus and really poured it on on both ends.  Vassar could do very little vs. the Ephs defense and Williams played great as a team with everyone contributing.  Karp went 5-5 raising his already ridiculous field goal percentage to 82.1.  Shout-out also to Michael Kempton, who had by far his best game of the year, going 4-4 with some nifty finishes inside and adding 4 assists.  Kempton plays his best when facing up against bigs with similar size and skill to him, also stepping up his game in those situations (as he did in last year's NCAA tourney).  He doesn't seem to have the gene to dominate against smaller guys who are outmatched.  Karp, on the other hand, clearly has no problem owning mismatches. 

For the Ephs, they somehow need to find a way to establish rhythm and flow earlier in games.  Wesleyan on Saturday is not a game where Williams can afford to wait to get into the game.  Also, it is imperative for Scadlock and Heskett to stay out of foul trouble -- neither can afford to sit much as the competition begins to improve.  Heskett was noticeably locked in on both ends in his short second half appearance and looked fired up.

One note on Vassar -- I really enjoyed watching the aptly-named Paul Grinde.  While still in college, he is that dude all of us old-timers have hated playing against in rec leagues -- huge, barely mobile, impossible to move around, with nifty (albeit earthbound) post moves and a surprising degree of grace around the hoop.  He will be exactly the same player at age 40 as he is today. 

Another great night for NESCAC overall -- 7-0, to bring the league's combined record to an incredible 42-7.  Wow. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Just for clarification, it was former Patriots head coach Bill Parcells who uttered the now famous quote "You are what your record says you are".  Parcells enrolled at Colgate but ultimately graduated from Wichita State.

Current Patriots head coach Bill Belichick played both football and lacrosse at Wesleyan.

An echo!

What?

What?




What?

[magicman]

Panthers are now off until Tuesday, Dec 5, against Plattsburgh at home and then take on Skidmore there on Friday, Dec.8. We always have good games against those two teams. Skidmore is 3-0 with a 88-62 road win against Plattsburgh: their preseason All-American Edvinas Rupkus is off the a fast start (averaging 23+ ppt).

Wonder if Magicman will venture over the Champlain Bridge for the Cardinals-Panthers game.

Yes he will!  There is a pair of rabid Midd fans that owe me burgers, fries, and at least one drink at the local watering hole. 

Wish I could bring our best player with me but Middlebury gets lucky and he will miss that game. Still, looking forward to a good time with friends and hopefully a competitive game. It will be good to see Coach Brown again and say hello. One of the best coaches in the game, the Panthers are lucky to have him. The Cardinals are very athletic and explosive. If they bring their best game, the Panthers will be challenged. If the team that got off the bus against Skidmore shows up, I will be disappointed. The Cardinals looked good disposing of St. Lawrence last night by a 95-79 score. Hoping to see more of that this weekend as we begin conference play.

Hope to run into the "Old Guy" at the game.       

[polbear73]

On the plus side, Bowdoin is developing a much more diverse scoring capability as David Reynolds and Stephen Ferraro let the Polar Bears with 16 points each in a rather lackluster win at Southern Maine last night.  Bowdoin is also getting solid contributions consitently from freshmen Zavier Rucker and Sam Grad while Hugh O'Neil continues to be a beast underneath.  Jack Simonds, while only scoring 11, turned in a griity performance with 9 rebounds.

While pretty much in control most of the evening, Bowdoin didn't put USM away and one wonders if Bowdoin plays to the caliber of the competition, up or down.  Hopefully they will develop the necessary killer instinct by the time the league schedule rolls around.