MBB: NESCAC

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Just awful regarding Locke.  He has obviously worked very, very hard given how much he has improved since his first year.  It would be just a terrible break to be unable to finish out his senior year in what could be a deep tourney run.  I really hope the injury was not as bad as it initially seemed.  Please keep us posted! 

Without Locke, they're not making a deep tourney run.  His size and presence kept them alive last year.  They'll struggle against top competition without him this year.  Of course, we might have a different definition of "deep" in this case.

[andrewolsen]

The All-Crazy Team is almost complete. One spot remains. Who will it be?

Gents,

As a former Co-National Player of the year, I think it is only appropriate for me to nominate somebody for the Final All-Crazy team spot. While fans talk of my late game heroics and ability to shoot from wherever I please, I truly pride my game after players who bring a high level of intensity and passion to the court. That being said, I would like to nominate a Wesleyan Cardinal.

Earlier this year I was able to catch the little three match up between the Red Birds and my Alma Mater on January 5th. While the Lord Jeffrey's won this battle, I truly believe a single Cardinal won the war.

Because of my fear of fame and inability to consistently sign autographs, I felt the need to stay incognito. I quietly sat behind the Wesleyan bench as I continually heard constant banter and outrageous outbursts coming from a member of the Wesleyan Bench. When searching through the game program, I managed to identify this legend as Neal Creeden.

When he checked into the game late in the second half, there was an eruption of what I seemed to make out as "Real Deal." Whether this is the correct nickname or not, I will continue to call him by this alias. Within his first possession, the "Real Deal" managed to pick up a flagrant foul via the slashing of a Lord Jeff jersey. While this action in itself deserves mentioning, it is his rage and ferocity that merits his recognition.

The "Real Deal" sighting number two came recently at the Connecticut College game. Upon getting a casual put back layup, this legend found it necessary to scream/shout/yell in Pete "The Big Bathroom" Banos' face while sprinting back on defense, only to slap the floor and break down into his defensive stance. With eyes widely open, the "Real Deal" attempted to stare deep into Banos' soul. While Banos was overwhelmed he apparently was able to "flush" that play down the drain and "plunger" his way to victory.

It is said that Banos' was not the only member in the gym who was startled/frightened. Many women and children were immediately evacuated, as the "Real Deal" was loose on the scene. While I did not see this instance myself, one of my former, favorite young talents of the NESCAC, Demetrius Porter, relayed the information to me (so you know its good).

So, in conclusion, based on these two events alone, Neal "The Real Deal" Creeden deserves strong consideration for the final spot on the illustrious All Crazy Team. Fortunately for all members of the 'CAC, this outrageous Cardinal is graduating in May.

For more on my lifestyle, excellence, and overall success visit my website:
Stroke-me.net

[walzy31]

Love the post on Creeden and you were very close on the correct spelling of Andrew's last name.

The Real Deal was already on my radar and I had given him a Honorable Mention slot. Time will tell whether or not I will promote him to the 10th spot on the All-Crazy team.

Thank you for your contribution!

[Pat Coleman]

Love the post on Creeden and you were very close on the correct spelling of Andrew's last name.

Yes, I'm sure the real Andrew Olson would know how to spell his own name.

[nescac1]

I wouldn't be so sure of that Pat -- we are, after all, talking about an Amherst grad ...

[frank uible]

Was he graduated, or did Amherst merely slide him out the backdoor, the way he came in?

[nescac1]

Ummm, Frank, while I am all for general digs on Amherst (see my prior comment), comments specific to a particular player (outside of the joking all-crazy type comments) are in poor form.  Just don't go there ...

[trixiep]

Locke's OK.  Not out for long.

[amh63]

Back from my extended road trip and occasional posts.  Caught up with the posts on the board.
First, the news about Locke's condition is great.  I am sure that all the players on the teams in the upcoming conference games are glad that Locke will be in the game.  To play against the best is satisfying.  To win against the best even better.
Oh yes...it seems that some Williams posters are getting frisky!......Bad purple Cows...or is it purple cowboys?

[Pat Coleman]

Although you did go there.

[lefrakenstein]

Top 20 PER's in the NESCAC....

PER includes only stats from conference games.

Whittington	44.77
Sharry	32.18
Wang	28.65
Emerson	28.58
Williamson	27.74
Toomey	27.43
Locke	26.30
MacDougall	25.95
Russell	25.67
Hanley	24.45
Workman	24.20
Holmes	23.20
Ellis	23.09
Ford	23.09
Anderson	22.43
Vadas	22.22
Wholey	22.08
Brown	22.03
Rooke-Lay	20.62
Deegan	20.55

A few takeaways....

1) Whittington is really, really good. I know this isn't news, but I think the gap between him and everyone else is wider than people might realize. He is way more dominant than even Sharry, and I'm not trying to take anything away from Sharry, who is otherwise probably the best player in the league. Whittington just puts up video game stats.

2) Emerson should be a pretty capable replacement for Whittington next year. He has done very well for himself in relatively limited action this year.

3) Williamson is absurdly high on this list because he went nuts his first two games in the NESCAC and basically didn't miss. With such a short conference season, it's possible for a player to have a few great games and really create a disconnect from the their conference profile to their overall profile for the year. Williamson shot 62% overall in the league and averaged 11.6 PPG. For the season as a whole he averaged only 7.2 PPG.

4) Conversely, Meehan had two really bad games by his standards last weekend, and as a result doesn't find himself on this list. Although his conference stats didn't end up looking that great, I still think he deserves at least a second team all-conference nod.

5) Trinity's MacDougall gets a bit overlooked as a top player in the league. I for one was surprised to see him pop out ahead of guys like Hanley, Russell and Ellis. MacDougall is a lights-out shooter. In conference he shot 47% overall, 46% from long range and 93% from the line. Not too shabby, and certainly part of the reason Trinity seemed to out-perform their expectations.

6) I know this is getting old, but Jeff Holmes really, really does deserve to play more. He is a rebounding machine, and I don't think coach Hixon gives him enough credit for it. For the second year in a row, his in-league performance would suggest he is a borderline all-league caliber player. The same simply cannot be said for Kaasila, although I do think he is a very solid player. It frustrates me that Holmes doesn't play more, I really think he could be a huge asset to the team.

[purple reign]

Nice work Lefrakenstein.  I wholly agree with your Holmes comments.  Thought he would see the floor with Kaasila against Midd.  Amherst couldn't guard Sharry when Locke was in the game.  Would have been interesting to see Kaasila-Holmes vs. Locke-Sharry.

[lefrakenstein]

Thinking about how good Whittington is historically, I went back and plugged in the stats for all of the NESCAC POTY's dating back to 2003, which is as far back as they have the stats online.

Plugging in a player's stats from a previous season into this season obviously isn't entirely kosher in calculating what their PER would have been that year, but it should get you in the ball park. For instance, Schultz's actual PER last year was 32.75, but plugging his numbers into this year would give him a 34.59. The average unadjusted PER for the league was a little lower this year, so his stats would look a little better in comparison.

Nevertheless, here's a ballpark estimate of the PER's for the POTY's back to 2003:

2011	Whittington	44.77
2010	Schultz	34.59
2009	Rudin	28.00
2008	Olson	17.12
2007	Olson	14.92
2006	Rhoten	25.06
2005	Schiel	38.87
2004	Coffin	31.52
2003	Zieja	27.51

Looks like from that quick glance, Whittington is the best POTY (assuming he wins) the NESCAC has seen statistically in around a decade.

Also, damn, the PER does not like Andrew Olson. It's just not impressed by huge assist totals. Even though his A/T ratio is huge, he still gets punished for having a lot of turnovers, not rebounding at a very high rate, not particularly scoring a lot and not shooting a ridiculous percentage, except of course at the line. I think we can agree this is one point where PER has failed to capture a player's value.

[amh63]

Started a post about the Talented  Holmes....but deleted it.  The suggestion of a Kaasila-Holmes combo is one that I feel should be used at times.....if Holmes is quick enough to guard Sharry.   Anyway, I decided to post my reservation about Holmes as a starter ahead of Kaasila.  When Holmes comes into a game, it normally is to replace Kaasila in the low post...to block out, to rebound and to finish shots, etc.  Holmes, in my limited observations, doesn't want to be the classic low post player.  He wants to play the 3 at times and the 4....but not the 5 position.  In a recent close game, Holmes received the ball down low and put up a soft shot.  He missed and got the rebound and tried another soft shot.  Again he got the rebound and quickly put up a shot.  Amherst went away to defend without any points.  He often is stripped after a rebound and is not a strong finisher close to the basket.  He has talent and can be a very good 4 position player.  He is not a low post center and he has not shown me that he wants to play there....even when Amherst needs him there.  Hard criticism...I realize, but I hope he proves me wrong this season and next.

[Colby Hoops]

Also, damn, the PER does not like Andrew Olson. It's just not impressed by huge assist totals. Even though his A/T ratio is huge, he still gets punished for having a lot of turnovers, not rebounding at a very high rate, not particularly scoring a lot and not shooting a ridiculous percentage, except of course at the line. I think we can agree this is one point where PER has failed to capture a player's value.

PER always favors big men who shoot a high percentage.  And particularly for Nescac play, it values rebounds and assists equally which doesn't really make sense.  In the NBA, assist numbers and rebound numbers tend to be fairly even.  Rondo leads the league with 12.3 assists while Kevin Love averages 15.4 boards (next guy Howard at 13.9).  For the Nescac, Hanley averages 12.9 boards in Nescac play and Meehan averges 4.2 assists.  Averaging 8 assists in the Nescac is far more impressive than averaging 8 rebounds, and that isn't reflected in PER numbers.

For a variety of reasons, assist numbers in the Nescac are far different from those in the NBA.  So calling Troy Whittington the best POY based off of PER is not quite fair.