MBB: NESCAC

[Old Guy]

"I believe that Midd's other big loss is in the guards that graduated" - amh63

Middlebury didn't lose any guards to graduation (at 1 or 2 anyway - Wholey played 3 or 4). Middlebury's guard play was strong last year, to say the least, though I can understand why Colby Hoops may not have been impressed with a 2 game sample:

Midd's guards grow on you. Kizell is not pretty, but he's tough as nails, at his best when things are most tense; Wolfin is also not sleek, but he has flair - he can miss four threes in a row and then stick the one that wins the game, very confident; and Thompson is also not flashy - all he does is play 38-40 minutes, score ten points, grab a handful of rebounds, run the floor, shoot 40% from three, and guard the other club's best offensive player, but it's often a quiet brilliance. He doesn't draw attention to himself. Thompson is a junior co-captain this year, a nice honor.

I'm a worrywart. It's hard to match a 28-2 season. Midd hasn't lost to a NESCAC team other than Amherst (once) and Williams (3 times) in three years. That NESCAC whitewash will be hard to maintain. Not only does it look like other NESCAC teams will emerge this year, but Middlebury's schedule is tougher overall. We've added four teams, three of which are NCAA tourney teams from last year.* We play 10 home games, 14 away.

The loss of Locke is obvious: he changed games even when he was on the bench. Teams changed their offensive strategies coming in. The loss of Jamal Davis is big too. What a great second half of the season he had, again and again coming off the bench to give us a lift defensively. Wesleyan, even without all those players lost to injury, was having its way at our place last year, up 12 with 10 minutes to play. Brown was killing us going to the basket off a high pick. Davis came in with his quickness and length and shut down the high pick and roll. Panthers win.

Will Sharry play the 5 this year? How will teams play him? He was 15/10 last year taking fewer than 10 shots a game. Will he be asked to do more? Can he stay out of foul trouble taking on more of the frontcourt defensive load? How will he do without his big partner?

How good are these sophs? Frosh? It will be fun to find out.

i was informed today that Locke is not playing pro basketball in Europe. He's working in a charter school in Liberia, Africa. Interesting young man.

(*If we beat Gwynedd Mercy in the first game we'll likely get Ramapo in the second in the early Ramapo tourney. Otherwise not. Both these teams will be two weeks ahead of us in preparation.)

[Old Guy]

Sorry, Colby Hoops. It was NEBBall25 who wasn't impressed by Midd's guard play.

[formerbant10]

The loss of Locke is obvious:

I think his loss is lost on many

[Colby Hoops]

Sorry, Colby Hoops. It was NEBBall25 who wasn't impressed by Midd's guard play.

No worries, I have lots of respect for the guards at Midd.  And no doubt that Locke is big loss, he really was a game changer.

I think Bowdoin is the pretty clear number four team right now. Hanley is an absolute monster, and he has some pieces around him in Nowell, O'Connell, Staiger and the big freshman.  I wouldn't be surprised if Bowdoin makes it a four horse race and is on the same level of the big 3. 

Also from what I've been hearing, Colby is going through a big-time style and tempo change under Coach Strahorn and could surprise some people in the bottom half of the league.  After losing Russell and Van Loenen from a team that didn't have great year, I think it's pretty clearly going to be an uphill battle, but as a Colby homer I'm hoping that they can sneak up on a few people.

[nescac1]

Good to see formerbant return!

[amh63]

Thanks Old Guy for the correction.  I was thinking of Wholey and thought he was a guard.  With Locke and Sharry up front, everyone else (excuse me Davis) looks like a guard......Amherst has/had alot of big guards.  Enough excuses for my bad memory!

[toad22]

Middlebury, Amherst and Williams all lost one star last year. Maybe that opens the door a little for other teams to seriously get into the mix for the championship. I agree that Bowdoin is the most likely candidate. Hanley is really good, and he seems to be surrounded with enough other talent. I've been waiting for Wesleyan to break out. This could be the year for them to do it. Bates is down, as is Colby and Conn. I wasn't that impressed with Hamilton last year, and with a new coach, I doubt they will do to much. Tufts could be a sleeper. Last year they looked better to me than the have in a quite a while. I would think that Trinity is still at least a year away. Unless they have the Fab Five down there in Hartford, they are unlikely to make too much noise.
I'm very excited about the season. The league should be very strong and very competitive.

[walzy31]

Good to see formerbant return!

YES!

[OchoLoko41]

First Day of the season fellas CAN YOU DIG IT!

But on a more serious matter, with these power outages still affecting a wide swath of New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut does anyone know how the 'CAC schools are fairing?  Could this give some schools a head start if others cant practice due to blacked out gyms?

[amh63]

Yes it is Nov. 1......and Amherst is open again to classes.  The gym complex was not listed as having lost power.  The storm impact may have changed the Captain's practices over the weekend.....if any were held.  Several items I picked up while cruising on-line.  The Midd. soccer team after the game in Middletown, stayed overnight in the Amherst area due to the storm conditions.  The Trinity football team stayed overnight in VT before returning to Hartford.  Trinity's campus had power and cable TV!
While visiting NERR, saw a note that states the Williams coaches and BB team will participate in a BB clinic around Nov. 13.  The clinic is for youngsters up to 15, I believe and will be on campus.  I guess the "recruiting" battle has been moved up a bit.  Just kidding!  It is interesting to me that holding a clinic in Nov. will allow the entire team to participate.

[walzy31]

First Day of the season fellas CAN YOU DIG IT!

But on a more serious matter, with these power outages still affecting a wide swath of New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut does anyone know how the 'CAC schools are fairing?  Could this give some schools a head start if others cant practice due to blacked out gyms?

It was pitch dark in LeFrak last night, but that's because Taylor Barrise shot the lights out...power was restored on Tuesday. Kid can shoot.

[nescac1]

Speaking of shooting the lights out, who would folks say is the best overall shooter in NESCAC?  Candidates:

Barrise and Aaron Toomey, Amherst
James Klemm, Taylor Epley and James Wang, Williams
Ryan O'Connell, Bowdoin
Matt Vadas, Conn College
Jason Mendell, Wesleyan
Alex Goldfarb, Tufts

My vote goes to Klemm: while he runs a bit hot-and-cold, no one can match him when he is on: he led NESCAC in threes last year, shot a solid .42 percent from deep despite the fact that he is a high-volume shooter, and made an insane .94 percent from the line (only two missed FT's all year).  Barrise, O'Connell, Wang are also all deadly. 

[amh63]

Basketball season is here for sure!..Turned on the TV and saw "Hoosiers" playing......again.

[dahlby]

One of my all time favorite shows! My Dad coached in a small town in the Midwest, and we had a gym that looked
just like this one. Even the uniforms were similiar. Uniforms have really changed. Brings back many positive memories of when I was a kid and "Coach ___'s boy". Plus K for reminding me!

[Colby Hoops]

Speaking of shooting the lights out, who would folks say is the best overall shooter in NESCAC?  Candidates:

Barrise and Aaron Toomey, Amherst
James Klemm, Taylor Epley and James Wang, Williams
Ryan O'Connell, Bowdoin
Matt Vadas, Conn College
Jason Mendell, Wesleyan
Alex Goldfarb, Tufts

My vote goes to Klemm: while he runs a bit hot-and-cold, no one can match him when he is on: he led NESCAC in threes last year, shot a solid .42 percent from deep despite the fact that he is a high-volume shooter, and made an insane .94 percent from the line (only two missed FT's all year).  Barrise, O'Connell, Wang are also all deadly.

For any of these guys, it pretty much depends on the night, they're all excellent shooters. I'd probably say O'Connell or Klemm are the ones I'd choose if I was forced.   I'd also offer up Ben Foreman from Colby as a sleeper candidate here, as he can definitely shoot it.  He's going to be one of the guys relied on to carry the offensive load, and he'll certainly have the opportunity to launch some 3s.