MBB: NESCAC

[lefrakenstein]

NESCAC colleges conspire against students and prospective students by agreeing to limit competition among the colleges for the students in terms of more attractive football and possibly other athletic scheduling.

I'm pretty sure this sentence has no meaning. What on earth are you trying to say? Try to use clear, concise sentences. Punctuation is allowed.

[speedy]

NESCAC colleges conspire against students and prospective students by agreeing to limit competition among the colleges for the students in terms of more attractive football and possibly other athletic scheduling.

I'm pretty sure this sentence has no meaning. What on earth are you trying to say? Try to use clear, concise sentences. Punctuation is allowed.

I think that Frank is saying that he hates the NESCAC's 75-man limit on football rosters. He'll be even more upset when he learns about the extreme limits on travel squads for all NESCAC teams!!!

[amh63]

Speedy,
  Your comment wrt extreme limits needs to be expanded.  The new traveling plans for some NESCAC teams  is clearly reflected in the Amherst women's ice hockey team schedule.  Whether at home or away, all NESCAC contests are played back to back.  For example, when Trinity comes to town, the games are played on a Fri. and then on a Sat.  This reduces travel expenses and should benefit the deeper squads.
   Now a BB observation.  While I was at Hamilton for the football game, I met a "young" BB coach during halftime.  I asked him if Hamilton was getting prepared to enter the NESCAC conference full time in a couple years.  He asked me what kind of season the Amherst men's BB team will have.  With a little bravado, I responded that Amherst could reach the final four with a little luck.  He smiled and also with a little bravado, stated that Amherst would have to come through Hamilton first to reach the final four.  I later found out that I was chatting with the head coach who is a Wes. graduate.  It will be interesting in the next few years.

[speedy]

The details of the NESCAC's new limits on travel squad size seem to be hard to find. My source is an article in the Bowdoin student newspaper last spring, which quotes the Bowdoin baseball and lacrosse coaches as not being at all happy about the new limits and being able to cite specific instances when the new limits would require significant changes in how they run their teams. I suspect that some of the NESCACs carry even bigger squads than Bowdoin and will be even more affected . . 

[CCsalive]

Buckle your seatbelts you towel-waiving geeks, CCsalive is "back and better than ever!" Which, btw, is Mike Greenburg's morning catch-phrase on ESPN radio. Most of you Henry David Thoreous spend your mornings listening to NPR while browsing the Vienna box-scores to see if your favorite Amherst student-athlete recorded a strong asst:turnover ratio in last night's game between Straussburg AC and the Bayern Munich U-19 development squad. What's the width of the international trapezoidal lane you losers? At the the rate at which Amherst is sending it's 4-year bench-warmers to Europe to play "pro-ball," you'd wonder how the hell that got their ass whipped by Middlebury last year.

Please click on the previously listed Hamilton newspaper link to read the complete story and to understand more of the context behind Hamilton's move to full-NESCAC and exactly what types of hurdles they face. As a Hamilton alum, the move to NESCAC might re-inspire my Continental basketball roots (ie JV team). That said, it is the Camels who will hoist the NESCAC trophy this year and this is why...we have the best player in the league and his name is Shavar Bernier.
The key factor for CC is Demetrius Porter who won ROY with his head so far up his you know what it makes you wonder what he's capable of with effort.
Bring the noise fellas...CCsalive is here to rumble.
OUT

[frank uible]

CC: When Amherst next meets CC,  I get Amherst plus how many points?

[amh63]

CC,
  Last year at Amherst, Midd. lost.  In the finals at Midd., Midd. won a close game.  I believe the home court with the crowd support was the difference between the two teams.  This is a bias opinion.
  Last year the first Midd. game was on Sat.  On Fri. night Amherst lost to Williams.  "If" Amherst had won on Fri. against Williams who played an inspired game, the game on Sat. against Midd. would have been for first place and the right to host the conference tournament. 
   I was at both games and on Fri., I spoke to a parent of a MD. player who I have been following.  I asked how the team and his son was feeling about the Williams game.  His shrug response was surprising.  At the game, I noticed that the Amherst team seemed flat and a step slower than Williams, overall.  At half time, while talking to the team's faculty adviser behind me, I found out that the tam had been hit hard by sickness early in the week.  Waller's father from Florida (a UCONN pharmacy grad.) who I was chatting with, only then related that the team couldn't hold practice for most of the week due to a lack of players.
   I know, what if's an all that.  The way Williams played on the road, they still deserved to win.  Did I really say that?  Bite my tongue!

Frank U.   I want a part of the action with CC....too.

[CCsalive]

I'm through posting until the season starts. Thanks for taking the fun right out of this. My post was sarcastic, enthusiastic, self-deprecating and hyperbole...like all of my posts. I certainly did not invite you to tell me about fletcher Walters' father's resume. Seriously, you're an idiot.
Do you have a single thought on Bernier or Porter?
Do you really need me to admit that Amherst dominates CC on a
Yearly basis?
I cannot put into words how pathetic your post was you front-running towel boy.   

[nescac1]

CCsalive, glad to have you back, and don't stop posting ... the site has been slow and we need some levity here.  Conn looks stronger but then again, so do the other former bottom-feeders: Tufts, Wesleyan, and Bates should all be MUCH improved.  No easy conference games this year. 

Amh63, the top NESCAC team is ALWAYS a threat to reach the final four, given that the rest of the Northeast is generally not as strong as the NESCAC.  But this year, UMass Dartmouth is going to be the clear regional favorite heading into the season.  They only graduate one senior from a stellar team, and add two D-II transfers.  Williams and Amherst are probably co-favorites in NESCAC.  Amherst has tons of talent but does lose its top player and a few important role players from a team that lost in the NCAA first round, so hard to annoint them final four caliber just yet.  If Williams has a little better luck with health, they are certainly a contender as well; losing Geoghegan (plus a bunch of other minor injuries) killed them last year, and they should be running Maker's system much better after a year of experience.  Wang, Whittington and Rubin all came on late in the season and should be impact guys this year.  Williams has the best senior class in NESCAC which is always an advantage; Amherst has the best group of younger players (especially a loaded sophomore class and a deep group of frosh), so it depends how fast they mature. 

Heading into pre-season, my thoughts on all-conference favorites:

1st team: Schultz, Pierce, Geoghegan, Meehan, Choice
2nd team: Wilson, Wheeler, Russell, Bernier, Phillips

ROY: Sha Brown, Wesleyan   
DPY: Edwards or Locke, Midd

Other candidates: Williams (Rubin, Whittington -- if he gets enough PT, Wang), Amherst (Waller, Holmes, Barrise), Bowdoin (O'Connell, Hanley), Bates (Ellis), Conn (Porter), Wesleyan (Kaminer),  Midd (Edwards, Locke, Sharry), Trinity (MacDougall), Tufts (Beyel).


A few teams have rosters posted:

http://athletics.trincoll.edu/sports/mbkb/2009-10/roster  (no seniors this year for Trinity)

http://www.colby.edu/athletics_cs/mens_basketball/index.cfm?content=roster

http://athletics.bowdoin.edu/sports/winter/mbkb/2009-10/roster (no frosh listed)

[amh63]

nescac1,
   Good assessments and comments.  They will serve well for debates/discussions.  My "a little luck" comment includes such things as few injuries and quick blending in of young talent.  With respect to Amherst, my pre-season thoughts are as follows. 
  Wheeler is one key to the season.  His brother always stated that Steve was the better player.  A great outside shooter and a true slashing player.  He has been hurt too often and appears to prefer to stay outside now.  He needs to rebound more and go inside  like his older brother.
  Waller has to develop a mid-range game to go with his inside game.  I do not think he is a true power forward.
  Amherst needs to develop a front court that will rebound and defend day in and day out.  Here is where the young talent needs to step up (like Wang of Williams last year).  Holmes last year seemed to want to play outside more than inside.  Amherst has enough outside shooters. 
  The talented frosh and soph must learn to play defense...on ball defense and team defense.  This is the other key to the season.  Amherst has enough offense available.

[lefrakenstein]

Disagree with respect to Holmes. He was great on the boards last year. I think he will be a major key to the team this year if he plays up to his potential. Also, i'm interested to see if barrise will make the commitment to improving his D. That kid can really score, if he improves on the other end he will be a major asset. Looking forward to some great amherst-williams battles next year. Going to miss ben rudin, he was fun to watch. has to be my favorite non-amherst player since petrie.

[walzy31]

Awww CCSalive, great to have you back. You strike me as the type of fan that is still jawing back and forth with the opposing team's fans as everyone is exiting the gymnasium, regardless of which team won, regardless of if it was a close game or not, and regardless of which direction the team's season was heading. I've finished many of those trash-talking sessions with fans like you and made the mental note that "that guy was a legit fan."

QUESTION: Hypothetically speaking, the 2013 NESCAC Championship game is Conn College Vs. Hamilton at Hamilton. When Conn wins, do you stomp on the Hamilton "H' on center court with the rest of the 17 Conn fans that made the trip and thus, stomp on a little bit of your heart? Or when Hamilton wins, do you storm the court with all of the fans, throwing your Conn Basketball hat to the floor in the process and ignoring your D3hoops posting up namesake?

I say we nix talking about the father's of the players...next thing you know people are going to be talking about each other's sisters and moms and then all hell is going to break loose.

[CCsalive]

Walzy,
We can now be friends. I actually am enough of an athlete, or ex-athlete, to have played enough games in my day where I don't need to yell and scream at other fans. I actually hate fans of pro sports for this reason.  Rather than yell at the Amherst fans, I'd much rather berate an official who likely went into the game presuming Amherst was going to win and therefore lets them jump over the back on offensive rebounds, etc.
I actually rooted my tail off for Conn in their victory over Hamilton College last year. A lot of Hamilton guys follow Murphy and Northeastern...I follow Conn, Carolina, and the Knicks!

[amh63]

Awaiting the start of BB practice and  discussions of the newcomers and the bias speculations of the season.
I was struck about the comment on the play of Rudin and Petrie as joys to watch.  I may be stating the obvious to this board, but when you consider Olsen and the play of other top NESCAC guards..."small" guards, it reminded me that while we talk about the big guys and the front court, etc.  Div3 is really dominated by the guard play.  Outstanding guards in the conference really determine the season for their teams.  I need to focus on the guards, the development of guards my speculation of the outcome of this season's games.     

[walzy31]

Guards might be the most exciting to watch (think: Nash, Jordan, Iverson in his prime, Olson, Keala Mills, Zak Ray, Ben Rudin), but in Division III basketball it is the combination of a talented backcourt and at least one talented big man needed to win it all.

Crotty & Coffin
Ton Ton & Adair
Olson & Wheeler (Hopkins/O'Shea/Jones/Walters)
Thompson & Ruths
Wallis & Nading

Even some of the teams that lost in the championship game off the top of my head had similar 1-2 combos (I'll spare you the repetition of relisting all the duos above who made it to salem at least once without taking home a National Championship):

Rochester had Perez & Hauben (and a young Onyiriyuka)
Wittenburg had Hill & Russ
Richard Stockton had Lancioni & Hubbard


I think every player listed above could dominate portions of games or entire games.