MBB: NESCAC

Old Guy · November 11, 2011, 11:41:28 PM

I may have to get to the Midd-Wes game in CT this year. Robinson's uncle has a nice mid-range jumper, but always goes to his left. Can Avery play?

walzy31 · November 12, 2011, 01:06:03 PM

Quote from: OchoLoko41 on November 11, 2011, 09:50:45 AM
Wesleyan just posted their roster http://www.wesleyan.edu/athletics/mbasketball/roster/index.html

No word on the position of the incoming freshmen but two things stand out to me.

Second Im starting the campaign for Ziggy Zacks to be preseason All Crazy based purely on name and this photo http://www.msgvarsity.com/westchester/pelham/zacks-attack-pelham-star-silences-peekskill-1.356868

Ocho,

Thank you for the Crazy-Team Nomination. There hasn't even been a game played yet and I have a short list I am working with. This bodes well for the level of quality of this year's All-Crazy team.

Also, I am not as interested in Wesleyan's Freshman class as I am with a new name in the Sophomore class. Julian Harris is extremely good. Reminds me a lot of Syracuse's Big East POTY Wes Johnson. The rest of the conference should start taking Wesleyan seriously as they are now favorites to finish 4th in the league and have affected the Big Three Show odds.

amh63 · November 12, 2011, 07:24:05 PM

Bowdoin's roster is posted. There are 15 players on the team with the 7 foot FY player standing out! When, if ever, has there been a seven-foot player in the conference? I recall that decades ago there was a 7 footer that played on a Williams team for a short while.
Amherst as of last night has posted a roster with 20 players...R. Bryant, the junior who was out all last season with an ACL injury is listed and three FY players.....without any numbers assigned. L. Lewis, the football CB is listed as is S. Noon, the POY soccer player.

amh63 · November 13, 2011, 10:58:21 AM

Still roaming the websites for info. Tufts roster is posted....14 players and 3 FY players....2 guards and a center. Not much other info, even on the coaches.
Bates has a very nice new website. No posting of roster to date.

OchoLoko41 · November 14, 2011, 01:50:07 PM

Thanks for the tip on Harris Walzy, while I havent heard alot about him to this point, if he's as good as you say he is this certainly is a promising development for the Cardinals

Wesleyan's roster has been updated with heights/weights for all of the new incoming talent. What seems noteworthy is that, while Wesleyan doesnt have any elite height the team as a whole has become much larger with five incoming players being 6'6" or taller. Should some of these freshmen develop as past Wesleyan freshman have under Reilly they may give Wesleyan one of the deepest front courts in the league

amh63 · November 14, 2011, 04:35:24 PM

Midd.'s roster is posted with 17 players listed....17 must be the upper limit allowed.(I was alerted to this roster by someone who tries to help me out at times when I "doze" off in my duties).
Went to the Wes. website to check out the players. Seems that J. Harris the soph transfer doesn't have a school listed by his name.
Walzy.....where did you hear about this "player" of note?

nescac1 · November 14, 2011, 05:39:07 PM

Season starts in four days ... Last year, everyone (correctly) annointed Aaron Toomey as the leading candidate for NESCAC ROY in the pre-season. Based on rankings, news stories, high school awards, and reports from folks on this site, there could be a very strong pool of candidates for that honor this year. Here are some newcomers to watch closely early in the season on NESCAC squads (and I'm sure I'm missing some, especially from schools without any posters here) ... based on combination of talent and opportunity, I'd bet the ROY emerges from this group. Harris, Safford, Brierley, Semin, Barry, and O'Loughlin, in particular, could all have an early impact:

Wesleyan: Julian Harris
Bowdoin: John Swords / Keegan Pieri
Bates: Graham Safford
Middlebury: Dean Brierley
Williams: Parker Semin
Amherst: Ray Barry / Joe Mussachia
Tufts: C.J. Moss
Trinity: Mike O'Loughlin / Jon Seltzer / Mikel Simpson
Hamilton: Sadiq Abubakar
Conn College: ??
Colby: ??

amh63 · November 14, 2011, 06:10:12 PM

Great info abounds when you wait.......Bates has posted its roster.....19 on the list with 5 FY players, I believe. Colby has also posted a large team of 18 players with 5 first year players. Haven't gone back to see if there are any previews on any of the websites.....yet.

Colby Hoops · November 15, 2011, 12:24:04 PM

Connor O'Neil, Shane Rogers and Dan Chase are the three Colby freshman who look like they'll get minutes, with O'Neill likely to start. All three are guards.

amh63 · November 15, 2011, 04:55:23 PM

Amherst has an updated "preliminary" roster posted. It now has numbers/size for the FY players. Interesting observations to me, not that it really matters in the scheme of things that really matter... like the play and chemistry of the players on the court.
First, the roster number is 19, with P. Edwards, a jr. forward presently missing. Last year, Amherst carried a roster of 19, so there goes my theory of "17" being an upper limit.
Amherst must have gotten a new tape measure this season, as all of last year's FY players (Toomey, Kalema, Buckner, Killian and Gach) are an inch shorter now. All of the now sophmores have, however, gained weight and, I hope, strength. The exception is Logan Buckner who has lost 10# and should play quicker and run the floor better. Many of the upperclass players also have gained weight for the long season. Now for the FY players......Levine is listed at 6'8" and 225#, a good size for a forward. Barry, the LA guard, is listed at 6'2"(new tape, I hope) and is also a good guard size. Mussachia, is listed as a forward and is the same size as Workman at 6'6" and 195 lbs. If he play as well as Workman did in his rookie year, he should be a candidate for Rookie of the year. It is interesting that Workman is listed as a guard and has played as a small forward for the past two seasons. Williamson should be more effective this year as a front court player as he has gained 10#(he played center in high school). One captain is listed...had expected two.

Old Guy · November 15, 2011, 06:05:23 PM

Have times changed? When I played, years ago, the manager, responsible for the roster and team publicity (such as it was in those days), came to us at the beginning of the season, and asked, "How tall are you this year?" What's your weight?" The reporting was hardly objective or scientific.

I was a shade over six feet tall. The years I was projected to play mostly guard, I was 6'1." When I was a forward, I was 6'2."

I go to games now and I find heights/weights wildly misreported: 5'9" guards are 6'0" or 6'1"; 6'3" forwards are 6'5" or 6'6." 270 big guys are 225.

It's all part of the fun.

"Lies, damn lies, and statistics" - Mark Twain. What matters is if you can play!

Mr. Ypsi · November 15, 2011, 06:52:22 PM

Quote from: Old Guy on November 15, 2011, 06:05:23 PM
Have times changed? When I played, years ago, the manager, responsible for the roster and team publicity (such as it was in those days), came to us at the beginning of the season, and asked, "How tall are you this year?" What's your weight?" The reporting was hardly objective or scientific.

I was a shade over six feet tall. The years I was projected to play mostly guard, I was 6'1." When I was a forward, I was 6'2."

I go to games now and I find heights/weights wildly misreported: 5'9" guards are 6'0" or 6'1"; 6'3" forwards are 6'5" or 6'6." 270 big guys are 225.

It's all part of the fun.

"Lies, damn lies, and statistics" - Mark Twain. What matters is if you can play!

When Earl Boykins first came to Eastern Michigan U. he was listed as 5'8". As a sophomore, he was 5'7". By junior year he was 5'5"! The coach got off a great line: "Hey, until he showed how good he was, you think I'm gonna risk my career admitting I recruited a midget?!"

[He is now in his late 30s and still in the NBA, and still listed as 5'5". He majored in my department (though never took one of my classes); several colleagues who taught him agreed that 5'3" was more realistic!]

amh63 · November 15, 2011, 08:21:53 PM

Having posted my comments, Amherst has posted its preview on its website...by the SID. It is,IMO, a fair assessment of the team's way ahead this season and points out the roles expected of the players on hand.

walzy31 · November 15, 2011, 11:46:42 PM

Quote from: amh63 on November 15, 2011, 04:55:23 PM
All of the now sophmores have, however, gained weight and, I hope, strength. The exception is Logan Buckner who has lost 10# and should play quicker and run the floor better. Many of the upperclass players also have gained weight for the long season. Now for the FY players......Levine is listed at 6'8" and 225#, a good size for a forward. Barry, the LA guard, is listed at 6'2"(new tape, I hope) and is also a good guard size. Mussachia, is listed as a forward and is the same size as Workman at 6'6" and 195 lbs. Williamson should be more effective this year as a front court player as he has gained 10#(he played center in high school).

A lot of weight observations...
I would credit/blame Valentine for the fluctuations.

amh63 · November 16, 2011, 10:43:23 AM

Enjoyed all the comments on size and weight. I guess I am "sensitive" about size matters, in particular weight. I was a thin runt....the size of Hamilton's FY player Lin, when I played on the D.C. playgrounds and tried out for the freshmen team. I would get banged around and bruised by heavier and taller players inside. I associate "weight" with muscle/strength. I soon learned to not go inside and keep my limited game to the point and outside. Never could gain much weight eating in "Val" with the the bland New England cooking in my days.
Seriously, in a BB discussion with S. Noon's father, I found out that A. Toomey's father was concerned about his son's well being late in the season. Toomey seemed to be wearing down. Mr. Noon related how his son was banged and hurt during the soccer season. It is part of game and expected even on the Div.3 level. Thus the interest in weight/strength.
A. Toomey, as pointed out in the Amherst preview, likes to go inside....it is part of his "game". He did get 8 rebounds along with 20 plus points in his first Williams game last year.