MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Congrats to the NESCAC players honored by D3hoops with all-region recognition:

http://www.d3hoops.com/awards/all-region/2017-18/northeast-men

Heskett and Daly first team all region, Gilmour second, Casey third, Pace fourth, and Hutcherson co-rookie of the year

Congrats also to Heskett, Daly and Gilmour to being named to the NABC all-region teams (Heskett and Daly first team, Gilmour second):

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/gojohnnies.com/documents/2018/3/12/2018_NABC_Coaches_Division_III_All_District_Teams_and_Coaches_FINAL.pdf

Heskett, Daly and Gilmour were clearly the top three players in NESCAC this year, and all were worthy of the dual honors.  Heskett and Daly I hope will make it onto one or both of the all-American teams (neither is a first teamer, but I believe both have earned some sort of national recognition).  Gilmour will certainly have his opportunity for national honors over the next few years as well ... he and Ross had an epic battle in the NCAA tourney, certainly they are two of the top sophomores in the country (with Ross being the top). 

[ContinentalDomer]

For what it's worth, Jake Ross is the best player I've watched in D3 this year.  I'd place Heskett close behind him, and while I like Daly, too, I rank Ross ahead of both.  From my perspective, "best" means the most complete, most skilled and most dominant player.  Ross consistently gets to whatever spot he wants on the floor.  Yet he does it with a level of patience, poise, body control, and consistency that puts him in control of the game on virtually every possession.  Simply, he makes great decisions with the ball and finishes like an assassin.  Because of his ability to create space and toughness, Ross can shoot it, he can drive it, he can step-back, pull-up, knock down turnarounds, and dish the ball to open teammates with supreme skill.  Ross took one shot in the nightmarish final minute against Hamilton.  He could have taken three or four.  But he was patient and he let the game circumstances dictate the outcomes.  Incredibly impressive.

It's pretty crazy that Springfield is in the Final Four.  In the first semester, they lost three straight to Williams, Trinity and Amherst, none of whom were playing like world-beaters at that point, and none of those games were even close.  I will note, however, that Jake Ross didn't look totally right to me at that point of the season and I'm guessing he was dealing with an injury or illness.  Moreover, Springfield has clearly improved tremendously since then, and they have also added Cam Earl to the starting lineup which gave them another big perimeter threat to open things up on offense.  Still, though, quite an improbable run for the Pride.  Personally, I'm happy to see any New England squad do well and showcase the depth of talent in the region, and I'm pulling for Springfield to pull off two more big upsets.  Anything seems possible, this year!  In light of the recent success of Babson, MIT, and Springfield, NEWMAC has shown that its top teams can compete with anyone in the country.  And MIT figures to be even better next year, while Springfield returns its two stars for two more seasons.   I'm sure that Hamilton is hurting knowing it easily could have been them in the Final Four with just one more free throw made down the stretch, but that's even more motivation for Hamilton's loaded senior class to be uber-ready for next season. 

Thanks to Toad for reminding me that Nebraska Wesleyan coach Dale Wellman is a former Williams assistant coach, under Coach Paulsen.  So a reason for Eph fans to pull for them.  And of course, if Ramapo wins it all, it makes Williams' close loss in the tourney look a heck of a lot better!  The only team I'm decidedly pulling against is Wisconsin-Oshkosh, but I've learned from long, painful experience NEVER to bet against a WIAC team once they make it to Salem ... they just seem to have a knack for eeking out the big victories.

[nescac1]

Domer, I agree with your assessment of Ross (not based on his game vs. Williams this year, but more generally).  Last year, I could not BELIEVE how advanced he was for a first-year player.  He is going to be a first-team all-American this year (and maybe even national POY if he has a massive Final Four) and if he stays healthy is a good bet for at least one POY.  He could absolutely be a mid-major D1 player right now in my view.  If he continues at this pace, he will be right there in the Mike Nogelo / Joey Flannery / Aaron Toomey / Jimmy Bartolatta category of all-time New England D3 greats (list not meant to be all-inclusive, but those are the first guys who immediately come to mind ...). 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Dave, as I mentioned earlier, what hurt amHerst most was that over one-third if their wins in a mediocre record were against weak out-of-conference teams, a long-standing aspect of their scheduling.

I am well aware of their schedule, schedule habits, and whatnot. A lot of things hurt them including... not winning when they needed to. They got into the tournament last year and I didn't think it was a good pick (even mock selections). I think this year it was the same and they didn't get picked.

[jayhawk]

strong connection between Jake Ross and Coach Hixon of Amherst
When Amherst played Springfield , this was a quote from Hixon about Jake Ross and his injury
Jake is like a son to me," Hixon said. "He grew up at my camp here. I know his family from way back when. I felt badly for him."

Jake Ross grew up in Northampton which is obviously very close to Amherst

[nescac1]

Another nice honor for James Heskett, second-team NABC all-American:

https://twitter.com/NABC1927/status/974299431368617985

It will be fun to see what he can do for an encore as a senior!

[JEFFFAN]

Dave, as I mentioned earlier, what hurt amHerst most was that over one-third if their wins in a mediocre record were against weak out-of-conference teams, a long-standing aspect of their scheduling.

I am well aware of their schedule, schedule habits, and whatnot. A lot of things hurt them including... not winning when they needed to. They got into the tournament last year and I didn't think it was a good pick (even mock selections). I think this year it was the same and they didn't get picked.

I am curious - is there a strength of schedule rating for D3 teams?

[nescac1]

Well, there are the SOS figures which are instrumental in regional rankings, but those are severely flawed and have been picked apart to death on these boards ...

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Massey has an SOS rating as well.  It's flaws have also been discussed quite a bit.

https://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&sub=III&mid=1

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Massey has an SOS rating as well.  It's flaws have also been discussed quite a bit.

https://www.masseyratings.com/rate.php?lg=cb&sub=III&mid=1

You have to go all the way down to Hope at 38 before you get a non-WIAC, CCIW, MIAC, OAC school.

[nescac1]

Primarily a football recruit, but this article focuses on future Eph Tyler Spiezio's basketball accomplishments and notes that he may attempt to be a dual-sport athlete in college.  He sounds like an impressive athlete indeed, to have so much success playing through a broken wrist and after eye surgery:

http://www.morrisherald-news.com/2018/03/08/morris-tyler-spiezio-named-morris-herald-news-player-of-the-year/akaxd8n/

Spiezio's father is former MLB player Scott Spiezio, so he at least has great genes!

Williams just released its admissions decisions (a record-low 12 percent admitted from a record-high 9500 applicants) so hopefully more recruiting news (if any still to come) in the near future ...

[Gregory Sager]

Primarily a football recruit, but this article focuses on future Eph Tyler Spiezio's basketball accomplishments and notes that he may attempt to be a dual-sport athlete in college.  He sounds like an impressive athlete indeed, to have so much success playing through a broken wrist and after eye surgery:

http://www.morrisherald-news.com/2018/03/08/morris-tyler-spiezio-named-morris-herald-news-player-of-the-year/akaxd8n/

Spiezio's father is former MLB player Scott Spiezio, so he at least has great genes!

He's at least a third-generation athlete, since his grandfather, Ed Spiezio, was also a major-leaguer. (He played for the Padres, Cardinals, and White Sox back in the '70s.) Ed was from Joliet, southwest of Chicago, and his son and grandson are from nearby Morris.

[nescac1]

Interesting Greg, thanks!

[ronk]

Primarily a football recruit, but this article focuses on future Eph Tyler Spiezio's basketball accomplishments and notes that he may attempt to be a dual-sport athlete in college.  He sounds like an impressive athlete indeed, to have so much success playing through a broken wrist and after eye surgery:

http://www.morrisherald-news.com/2018/03/08/morris-tyler-spiezio-named-morris-herald-news-player-of-the-year/akaxd8n/

Spiezio's father is former MLB player Scott Spiezio, so he at least has great genes!

He's at least a third-generation athlete, since his grandfather, Ed Spiezio, was also a major-leaguer. (He played for the Padres, Cardinals, and White Sox back in the '70s.) Ed was from Joliet, southwest of Chicago, and his son and grandson are from nearby Morris.

A sign of my age that I knew of Ed the grandfather rather than Scott the son as a MLB player.

[jmcozenlaw]

Domer, I agree with your assessment of Ross (not based on his game vs. Williams this year, but more generally).  Last year, I could not BELIEVE how advanced he was for a first-year player.  He is going to be a first-team all-American this year (and maybe even national POY if he has a massive Final Four) and if he stays healthy is a good bet for at least one POY.  He could absolutely be a mid-major D1 player right now in my view.  If he continues at this pace, he will be right there in the Mike Nogelo / Joey Flannery / Aaron Toomey / Jimmy Bartolatta category of all-time New England D3 greats (list not meant to be all-inclusive, but those are the first guys who immediately come to mind ...).

Ross (like Flannery) could easily be playing at any of the Patriot League schools..........with the exception of this year's Bucknell team. How he didn't get any mid-major looks, nor D-2 looks is mind blowing, unless he was a very, very late bloomer. A free Lehigh (where he could play) education is worth about $300K.