MBB: NESCAC

Rick Vaughn · January 23, 2009, 08:48:54 PM

Any one else listening to the Wesleyan-Williams webcast? WesTech at it's best. Ridiculous.

TheHerst2and4 · January 23, 2009, 10:48:45 PM

If Elms were to win out, it would make for an interesting hosting situation. Not sure Elms' little gym could host a sweet 16/elite 8

nescac1 · January 24, 2009, 08:31:12 AM

ooofff, Ephs 1-20 from 3 last night, brutal. Still won thanks to a strong inside game, but any more shooting nights like that and they are in big trouble. Still, just shows they should be doing as much as possible to get the ball inside to Joe G. and Whittington (who is shooting a ridiculous 77 percent in addition to two blocks per game in very limited minutes), and for the inside-outside guys like Schultz and Timmins to try to shoot closer to the hoop, rather than collectively tossing up tons of 3's. No one in NESCAC other than Middlebury can match the Ephs' size, strength and experience on the interior and they should be exploiting that.

Wang who has been a big factor of late didn't play at all -- hopefully he isn't hurt.

cruiser · January 24, 2009, 12:02:11 PM

any thoughts on todays games?

lefrakenstein · January 24, 2009, 02:04:39 PM

Did anyone see the Bates-Bowdoin game last night? Sounds like it was quite the barn-burner, 10 lead changes and 12 ties, with a late 3 by Scott Place to win it. I would be interested to hear someone's impressions of the game.

nescac1 · January 24, 2009, 05:37:41 PM

Big bounce back game for Schultz and Snyder as both lit it up against Conn. Ephs continue to get a spark off the bench from Rubin and Whittington, Wang apparently is sick but hopefully should be ready for the big showdown with Middlebury.

NESCAC picture becoming clear with Colby, Midd, Amherst and Williams dominating the competition ... next Saturday is a huge day as those four teams face off in a battle for first place.

ephoops · January 24, 2009, 06:22:40 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on January 24, 2009, 08:31:12 AM
ooofff, Ephs 1-20 from 3 last night, brutal. Still won thanks to a strong inside game, but any more shooting nights like that and they are in big trouble. Still, just shows they should be doing as much as possible to get the ball inside to Joe G. and Whittington (who is shooting a ridiculous 77 percent in addition to two blocks per game in very limited minutes), and for the inside-outside guys like Schultz and Timmins to try to shoot closer to the hoop, rather than collectively tossing up tons of 3's. No one in NESCAC other than Middlebury can match the Ephs' size, strength and experience on the interior and they should be exploiting that.

Wang who has been a big factor of late didn't play at all -- hopefully he isn't hurt.

It looks like Whittington averages only 10 -12 minutes per game. Why doesn't Maker give him more minutes...??

He had 8 rebounds in 10 minutes vs. Conn this afternoon...

Conn also beat Hamilton by 19, and the Ephs lost to Hamilton at home... Go figure...

ac08 · January 24, 2009, 07:43:37 PM

Amherst 65 Trinity 48

Congratulations to Brian Baskauskas for becoming the 23rd member of Amherst's men's 1000 pt. club. Great player. He's my pick for POY.

JustAFan · January 24, 2009, 07:56:56 PM

New Tufts and Trinity commitments for next year.

http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com/news/article/674/Commitment-CatchUp.php

toad22 · January 24, 2009, 08:29:39 PM

Ephoops:
Given the nature of Maker's offense, Whittington and Geohegan will probably never play together. Thus to have Troy play more you need to have Joe sit more. It is very difficult to sit Joe out that much. Those guys are both pure centers.

Rick Vaughn · January 24, 2009, 11:30:02 PM

Wang and Porter did not play today in the Williams-Conn game. That's two of the biggest impact freshman in the NESCAC missing the game.

fpc85 · January 25, 2009, 09:02:54 AM

so many questions about maker. why?

nescac1 · January 25, 2009, 09:17:27 AM

I wouldn't say there are "so many" questions about Maker. Overall, seems like he is doing a great job, and I've heard only great things about his personality, demeanor, knowledge of the game, relationships with players, etc. I mean, the Ephs are 14-5 and 4-0 in the conference which is hardly shabby, and could easily have a much better record but for some tough breaks (tons of early season injuries and illnesses limiting ability to adapt to a new system, 4/5 losses could really have gone the other way, 3 without big Joe, while almost every win has been a blow-out). A few people (including me) have wanted to see more interior focus considering the Ephs have several very solid big men in a conference mostly devoid of them, but Maker's system may not be a 100 percent match for the personnel on hand, which is to be expected considering he didn't recruit any of them, and you have to coach substantially the way you plan to without totally changing your system in that situation (his system really works best with at least four guys who can shoot, pass and cut without two bigs clogging the interior at the same time) The team really seems to be hitting its stride now. Of course, they got a little fat off the easy part of the NESCAC schedule, but they took care of business in games they had to win. Now they have a tough stretch to end the season including at Middlebury and Amherst and Colby at home. With no mid-week games coming up, the Ephs finally have a lot of practice time with a full and healthy roster, so time to hopefully step up and win some of the close games against teams with equal talent. Midd seems to be the best in conference right now, so Saturday's game should be a war.

Speaking of injuries, I saw Amherst's Holmes did not play yesterday, is he hurt?

CCsalive · January 25, 2009, 12:58:01 PM

Don't count the 0-4 Camels out yet. I'm not sure what is going on with Porter, but he isn't contributing like he was, that is for sure.
Conn's next three opponents are Bates, Tufts, Wesleyan.
The Camels are kicking themselves for not beating Trinity.

lefrakenstein · January 26, 2009, 01:16:52 PM

For the New Englandite b-ball junkies on this board, how do you think the NESCAC would fair against the NEPSAC 'A' high school league? I saw Northfield Mount Hermon play Winchendon last year, and I have to say that the raw talent level for both teams was well above what you would typically find in even the top NESCAC squads. Winchendon I know runs at least 5-deep with D-I caliber talent, including two kids going to UConn.

Obviously the NESCAC has the advantage with older, more mature players. Any thoughts?