MBB: NESCAC

[7express]

can someone explain to me (who admittedly has no idea how it all works) how McMurry at 21-7 got a bye over teams such as Williams, UWSP and Wooster? Does winning your conference factor in?

The 3 bye's went to McMurry (geographical location), Middlebury (high seed) and Whitworth (a combination of both).

[The Voice]

Howdy y'all, I've been lurking this site for the past two seasons and figured I'd finally create an account. I'm the PA announcer for Middlebury (hence the handle) and I'm excited about hosting a second-round game this weekend. Although I DO have to tone down my usual homer-ism since we're technically a "neutral site."

Thoughts from watching most of the Williams-Midd game on their free webcast: Jamal hit his stride at the right time of the season. He started peaking somewhere mid-way through NESCAC play this year and has kept it up. I like that on one night, Jamal can eat up minutes when we need athleticism, and Big Pete Lynch can dominate another night when we need size. Joey has come on like crazy as well, and when we play Wolfin/Thompson/Kizel in the backcourt together it is a fun game to watch.

Also, someone commented on Luis Alvarez getting used sparingly; the kid is an infuriating defender. His match-ups get flustered enough that it throws off their own defense. Great fun to watch from courtside.

Best of luck to all three NESCAC representatives in the NCAAs. I'm rooting for a Williams-Middlebury rubber match in Salem!

[Pat Coleman]

Welcome to the board -- we need more Middlebury voices here. Well, supporters. You know what I mean.

[amh63]

Welcome aboard "voice".  I second Pat's comments for any posters from other conference schools.   What is missing on this board are more posters/supporters of the CT. and Maine schools and even Tufts.  It seems that with the improving squads from Trinity and Wes. and even Bowdoin, and their success in "recruiting" recently, maybe we will hear from school supporters soon.  With the entrance of Hamilton full time next season, here's hoping we will have Hamilton posters.  Pat C., were there many BB posters for Hamilton in the Liberty League?   Some homework for me.  To Trinity followers, there are other sports at Trinity than squash and football and hockey.

[Old Guy]

Everybody seems to believe that Western CT will get by Salve. What little I hear about Western Ct concerns me. Midddlebury's most avid fan and former player, Clubbo, will be going to Thursday's game so I will have a complete report by gametime Saturday, though Clubbo is always the optimist, opposite of me, the worrier.

Someone posted that W.CT was "fast and tiny," and that's the kind of club that has given us some problems in the recent past: RIC licked us handily last year in the second round - they were "athletic" and played a great 40 minutes. The year before in the flukey loss (5 pts ahead with 30 secs to play - two 3 pt bombs did us in) against Bridgewater State again was to a fast & agile group. Wesleyan gave us fits for 30 minutes this year (Sha Brown!), and last year our other loss was to Colby Sawyer whose little point guard bedeviled us.

My biggest worry actually is the flu that is ravaging the campus. The baseball coach called off practice yesterday as he had ten players unable to practice. I suggested to the A.D. that he wrap the basketball players in cellophane and send them off to a remote sterile location, but the players insist on being college students and going to class, doing their homework, etc..

Life is so full of pitfalls and anxiety. I may have to go off to a remote location.

[Colby Hoops]

Does Midd ever use a zone against these smaller teams?  It would seem that a zone would be a better option than having Sharry and Locke forced to chase around smaller players.

[Pat Coleman]

Welcome aboard "voice".  I second Pat's comments for any posters from other conference schools.   What is missing on this board are more posters/supporters of the CT. and Maine schools and even Tufts.  It seems that with the improving squads from Trinity and Wes. and even Bowdoin, and their success in "recruiting" recently, maybe we will hear from school supporters soon.  With the entrance of Hamilton full time next season, here's hoping we will have Hamilton posters.  Pat C., were there many BB posters for Hamilton in the Liberty League?   Some homework for me.  To Trinity followers, there are other sports at Trinity than squash and football and hockey.

No, honestly, I don't remember any Hamilton posters.

[Mr. Ypsi]

Welcome aboard "voice".  I second Pat's comments for any posters from other conference schools.   What is missing on this board are more posters/supporters of the CT. and Maine schools and even Tufts.  It seems that with the improving squads from Trinity and Wes. and even Bowdoin, and their success in "recruiting" recently, maybe we will hear from school supporters soon.  With the entrance of Hamilton full time next season, here's hoping we will have Hamilton posters.  Pat C., were there many BB posters for Hamilton in the Liberty League?   Some homework for me.  To Trinity followers, there are other sports at Trinity than squash and football and hockey.

No, honestly, I don't remember any Hamilton posters.

Maybe Brian Hamilton could be persuaded to root for his namesake school.

[walzy31]

My biggest worry actually is the flu that is ravaging the campus. The baseball coach called off practice yesterday as he had ten players unable to practice. I suggested to the A.D. that he wrap the basketball players in cellophane and send them off to a remote sterile location, but the players insist on being college students and going to class, doing their homework, etc..

Life is so full of pitfalls and anxiety. I may have to go off to a remote location.

Hah, if you stay put then you can check that off of your list of things to do.

[walzy31]

I will post the three NESCAC NCAA lines once the D3hoops.com (ran by D3photography and D3woodwork) pick'em pool locks and the Middlebury opponent is known.

[walzy31]

All NESCAC Honors
http://www.nescac.com/sports/mbkb/2010-11/honors/allconference

Troy was so good that he got POY, 1st Team, AND 2nd Team (this has subsequently been fixed).
Toomey ROY
Locke DPOY
Brown COY

The 1st Team was the most predictable 1st team in recent memory.
Macdougall edging onto the 2nd team over a second Amherst or third Middlebury player was the only surprise.

I have principle issues with Sha Brown and Mike Russell earning accolades since their teams missed the NESCACs, but I also can respect their statistics. We will give them each the "Jon Pierce All-NESCAC 2nd Team Whole Team" award.

[nescac1]

Hmmm, I had everything right except for McDougall (which doesn't shock me, reward a senior from a conf. semifinal team who had a strong career, even though I think Workman is probably a better player) and Toomey (which again doesn't surprise me, I would have at least made Kizel co-ROY, though, considering how crucial he was to Midd's late-season success, but then again, hard to argue with Toomey's numbers / impact / talent).  

Given how much better / more productive Russell and Brown are than anyone left off the team, I have no issue whatsoever with their inclusion.  You can't blame Russell for the fact that Colby only had one other consistent scoring threat, or Brown for the fact that Wesleyan lost two front court starters (from a thin group of forwards to begin with) to injury, and didn't have a ton of interior help for him, as a result.  

Overall, hard to take a lot of issue with any of the picks.  I think Whittington should be a first-team all-American for sure, and Wang and Sharry are both deserving of inclusion on one of the all-American teams as well.  


There is gonna be a heck of a battle for all-NESCAC honors at guard over the next few years with Wang / Robertson / Rooke-Ley, Kizel / Wolfin / Thompson, Sha Brown, Toomey, and Vadas all returning and all (other than Wang) having at least two remaining years of eligibility.  I can't imagine any conference can match NESCAC's returning talent at guard.  Up front, that is a different story, as the loss of Whittington, Locke, Ellis, Russell and McDougal wil really deplete the overall interior talent pool. 

[The Voice]

Congratulations Coach Brown! A friend told me recently that when Russ Reilly hired Jeff, he called our mutual friend to say, "I've just hired a coach that's going to take this program to the next level." Very true.

Congrats to Locke as well for DPOY honors; three in a row for Middlebury with Timmy Edwards 2x and now Andrew. Maybe Nolan Thompson in '11-'12?

No surprise on Sharry making first team all-NESCAC. A little surprised to not see Wolfin on the second team, given that he lead in assists, but every one both teams is deserving.

I only saw Toomey once this year, in their game at Middlebury. He was 1-10 that day and took the loss as hard as I've seen anyone in a regular season game, towel over his head, crying, etc. He'd never lost in his college career! A very talented player who should improve next year with more PT. Matt Vadas for Conn should have gotten some votes, and will be a first-team player in a couple of years. And I have to put a plug in for Joey Kizel, who's been huge off the bench in the postseason so far.

[walzy31]

No question that Kizel is talented and will be great for Midd going forward. I am sure he narrowed the margin in the last couple weeks as he played his best ball of the season and Toomey had some rough games. Toomey deserved the honor...if you recall about 16 games into the season (while Workman was hurt for a stretch) there was legitimate talk of Toomey making 2nd Team All-Conference. I think his performances in the three Midd/Williams conference games played those honors off the table, but even with those sub-par games, his numbers are:

12.0 ppg
leads Amherst in Steals (38) and is second in Assists (84) and Points (301)
38% 3pt
88% FT which is an Amherst single season record

=

NESCAC Rookie of the Year

[walzy31]

Debate Topic

Troy Whittington, NESCAC Player of the Year en route to 1st Team AA, is not the best or most valuable player on his team.

I think that Whittington or Wang could have won the honor and people would nod in agreement. My vote would be for DK Mode Wang.