MBB: NESCAC

[jesseowenssmoked]

Obviously it wouldn't be a crime if Schultz got POY. He's had an incredible season. However to say its clear cut and that choice is 3rd is absolutely absurd.

Choice (conference): 20 ppg 5.7 rpg 2.1 apg 45% from the field 79 % from the line
Schultz (conference): 20.9 ppg 4.2 rpg 1.7 apg 61 % from the field 73 % from the line
Wang (conference): 15.3 ppg 4 rpg 5 apg 51% from the field 96 % from the line

First of all why is Wang in this conversation over Pierce? Also and this is just something confusing to me how does a guy who shoots 60 % and 57 from three shoot 72 from the line? More importantly though, as a biased Colby fan I think Choice's stats are better. Realizing the bias I would think it perfectly understandable for somewhat to say they were even overall. At the end of the day, however, Choice means more to his time and is planned around more by opponents. If this doesn't make you the POY not sure what does. Not to mention he had MVP chants going at the Colby-Amherst game. Also how is Hanley getting one some people's 1st team list but Russell has been universally hated on in that respect?

Finally nescac1 I can't tell you how much the paradigm enjoyed not only that you understood that but that you responded like that. 

[muletrain]

If Mike Russell doesn't get 1st team all NESCAC I will disagree but understand. There are lots of great forwards in the conference this year. If Hanley makes it over him though it would be an absolute travesty. I wouldn't put Hanley on either 1st or second team. Bowdoin deserves 1 player and that is Phillips. He is more important to the team and deserves a 2nd team all-NESCAC spot.

My predictions (not what they should be)

1st team

Shultz
Choice
Wang
Edwards
Pierce

2nd

Sharry
Russell
Ellis
Wheeler
Bernier

POY:Shultz (it kills me to actually put this in print)
ROY:Brown
DPOY: Edwards
COY: Furbush

[eph partisan]

hello, everyone - long time reader, new to posting.

Obviously it wouldn't be a crime if Schultz got POY. He's had an incredible season. However to say its clear cut and that choice is 3rd is absolutely absurd.

Choice (conference): 20 ppg 5.7 rpg 2.1 apg 45% from the field 79 % from the line
Schultz (conference): 20.9 ppg 4.2 rpg 1.7 apg 61 % from the field 73 % from the line
Wang (conference): 15.3 ppg 4 rpg 5 apg 51% from the field 96 % from the line

First of all why is Wang in this conversation over Pierce? Also and this is just something confusing to me how does a guy who shoots 60 % and 57 from three shoot 72 from the line?

Obviously, I am biased toward Williams. But I think that Wang is in the conversation over for several reasons. First off, he can single-handedly beat teams. I don't know if you saw any of the Ephs' game against Wesleyan last weekend or Amherst the week before, but when the Ephs need him to, he takes control. Pierce needs other players to do that. It's also a factor that Tufts isn't very good, and that Pierce is not so clearly a positive influence on his team while Wang has become a team leader for the Ephs and is only a sophomore.

Schultz is shooting 85 percent on the year, so I would argue that his NESCAC FT shooting is more due to statistical noise than to his actual ability. His historical numbers back that up.

More importantly though, as a biased Colby fan I think Choice's stats are better. Realizing the bias I would think it perfectly understandable for somewhat to say they were even overall. At the end of the day, however, Choice means more to his time and is planned around more by opponents. If this doesn't make you the POY not sure what does. Not to mention he had MVP chants going at the Colby-Amherst game.

The other side of this coin is that Choice is significantly less efficient than Schultz; this is in part because Choice has to make it happen much more often than does Schultz, but it nevertheless is a fact. A statistic you didn't point out is that Schultz shoots 55% from three; there are games where he literally doesn't miss, no matter where he shoots from. He is a player that, like Wang, can take over games on the offensive when the Ephs need him to. Moreover, he is an excellent defender, typically guarding the other team's best wing player.

Ultimately, the statistics are debatable, but the argument comes down to the fact that Schultz is the best player on the team that has had the best season. POY is not MVP - if it were, I think that the debate would be much less clear.

[eph partisan]

Though I agree that Choice being third might be stretch.

[nescac hoops]

If Mike Russell doesn't get 1st team all NESCAC I will disagree but understand. There are lots of great forwards in the conference this year. If Hanley makes it over him though it would be an absolute travesty. I wouldn't put Hanley on either 1st or second team. Bowdoin deserves 1 player and that is Phillips. He is more important to the team and deserves a 2nd team all-NESCAC spot.

My predictions (not what they should be)

1st team

Shultz
Choice
Wang
Edwards
Pierce

2nd

Sharry
Russell
Ellis
Wheeler
Bernier

POY:Shultz (it kills me to actually put this in print)
ROY:Brown
DPOY: Edwards
COY: Furbush

I'll let you argue that Choice has an argument for POY but Coach Maker is WITHOUT a doubt the NESCAC COY.

[frank uible]

Relax, sit back and enjoy the games. This  is only basketball - and DIII basketball at that.

[nescac1]

Frank, you don't see the irony in a guy with your prolific posting history suggesting to others that they are wasting their time discussing DIII basketball? 

Anyone who has seen Wang play more than once this year can recognize that he is one of the best 3-4 players in the league, without question.  His shooting numbers, in particular, are insanely good for a point guard / high volume shooter.  He is probably the most unstoppable one-on-one player in NESCAC.  Schultz is a senior, and his entire package of shooting, knowing how to draw fouls in key situations, toughness / grit, defense and leadership warrant player of the year, but I'd say it is basically a toss-up for who is the best player on the Ephs.  Even if the Ephs somehow lose to Bates on Saturday, Maker is COY, no question.  But Furbush certainly did a great job bringing his team together after a rough start, despite losing their best player mid-season.   

[frank uible]

I like life am full of ironies, inconsistencies and surprises. What is the old Emerson saying about hobgoblins and foolish consistencies?

[Old Guy]

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." This sentiment by Emerson is one of my favorites, as it seems to dignify my inconsistent efforts on many fronts.

If there were a NESCAC draft, I would take Wang if I had the first pick. If I had the second pick I would take Locke. They can change games all by themselves. Schultz blows my mind with his accuracy (5-5 from three against us), but I think he benefits from his supporting cast. I acknowledge Choice's talent and versatility, but I've seen him only four times, all in games when his play was subpar. Pierce, I have only seen in blowout losses.

Middlebury will not be overconfident. I think these guys are incapable of overconfidence. They are by individual personalities consistent and mature. . They play hard without the emotional excess you often see today (trash-talk). They are by nature not particularly assertive people. Nice kids. Another reason why Edwards is so important: he ignites the fire.

[machine54]

Old Guy - if not for Edwards the MIDD KIDDS might be home this weekend watching the snow fall during Winter Carnival.   Down by 8 to Trinity - late first half - throwing up brick after brick - the senior puts it on his shoulders and hits big shot after big shot to cut halftime deficit to a manageable number.  They have put together a tremendous season and their defense will keep them in every game but the lack of a go to player in crunch time may hurt them against Williams this weekend and ultimately in the tournament.   

What lies ahead and what lies behind is small when compared to what lies within. 

Emerson   

[toad22]

Schultz deserves a huge amout of credit for his play this year. From day one he was the player with with the bullseye on his back. Teams always put their best defender on him, and often double him. Frequently, the best offense Williams has is to put Schultz in the deep corner and play away from him. It opens up lanes for the other guys. That is why he often ends up with a small shot count. The good news is he doesn't need many shots to be a prolific scorer. Schultz is an extremely efficient offensive player. Schultz, along with Wang and Whittington, represent the most efficient offensive threat Williams has ever had. Taken together, their shots to total points ratio is about 1.67 to 1. That ratio is off the charts for a single player. For the top 3 scorers on a team to have that ratio makes the team nearly impossible to guard. It all starts, in my view, with the extra attention Schultz attracts and the way he handles it.  

[nescac1]

All good points by Toad.

Championship preview from Tufts student paper:

http://www.tuftsdaily.com/sports/inside-nescac-men-s-basketball-panthers-and-mules-to-engage-in-defensive-battle-1.2167377

[mainehoops]

If there were a NESCAC draft, I would take Wang if I had the first pick. If I had the second pick I would take Locke.

Old Guy, I'm assuming you pick these two because they are both underclassman right?  If you are building your team around one player for one year it has to be Choice, although I recognize that you have not seen him at his best.  I'm hoping you do TOMORROW!  Choice is the only player since the 2002-03 season when the NESCAC started keeping top-10 statistics in all categories to finish the regular season in the top-10 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and blocked shots.  He is the most complete player in the Nescac.  That said, I won't be surprised if Wang or Schultz gets POY because besides being very good, they are maybe the two most efficient players in the league.

Old Guy - Did you know?  That Colby's last two Nescac tourney wins were against Middlebury?  Is #3 on the way?

WHITE MULES!

[walzy31]

MaineHoops,
Phenomenal post and thanks for breaking the posting lull before the storm.


2/27/2010 - NESCAC Spreads

#4 Bates +15.5 @ #1 Williams
Over/Under: 155.0

#3 Colby +6.5 Vs. #2 Middlebury (@ Williams)
Over/Under: 124.5


Proposition Bets

2010 NESCAC Champion
Williams      -290
Middlebury  +100
Colby         +420
Bates         +800

How Many Does Wang Go Off For?
(Saturday & Sunday Total Ponts)

0-9     +800
10-14  +600
15-19  +490
20-24  +250
25-29  +200
30-34  +160
35-39  +140
40-44  +130
45-49  +120
50-54  +180
55-60  +280
60-64  +550
65+     +770

[muletrain]

I am enthusiastic about only being given 6.5 points. Waltzy, love the optimism. I know Williams is the class of the NESCAC but I have always thought Midd was the tougher matchup for the mules. We need another lights out day from Haylon as well as the usual Choice/Russell two-headed production monster. That and a bad shooting day from the Midd Frosh could spell an upset.