MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Yeah, RPI is not very good.  Williams was basically healthy for this game, so can't say it was injuries.  If I thought this game was representative of Williams, I would be really worried and feel like they are ranked way too high, but Williams just did not play at all composed or poised on the offensive end for most of the game, lacked its usual defensive intensity, and missed (other than Klemm) a slew of wide open threes that it normally nails -- at least 3-4 seemed to barely rim out.  I am not sure that a healthy Ephs squad is capable of playing much worse.   Williams has a few tougher games coming up vs. Springfield and Keene, and will have to play much better than they did tonight to earn victories, no doubt about that. 

Definitely surprised by Springfield's start, they lost a lot of guys from a so-so team last year, they are definitely exceeding expectations, with some very solid wins.  They have a brutal four game stretch ahead, it will be interesting to see how they fare.   

[amh63]

Amherst beats Lasell 94-61 at Lasell.  It was 44-32 or something at the half.  The video coverage was clear when it was available.  The live stats only gave the results of the women's game played earlier.  Holmes started and played most of the first half when P. Kaasila came in the last minute.  Toomey was not on the floor when I caught the last 8-10 minutes.  There was a great deal of player rotations.  The last half of the first half was choppy in play due to stoppage....to wipe up the wet floor near the basket where players had fallen.  Video feed was on during halftime but quite on me within the first minute of the second half.  Did see Aaron T. get the ball.  Will have to see the boxscore to see the players times on the floor.
With 8 minutes to go in the half, Amherst was ahead by only 18 and was worried about Walzy's spread.  Appears Amherst covered the spread and it was right on in the O/U.  Bad night for watching on-line.  Did see the WBB victory!  Go Jeffs

[Old Guy]

Very one-sided game tonight for Middlebury. Hard to evaluate. No one played more than 23 minutes. Lynch scored 19 on 7-9 shooting.

Brierley had 20 in 16 minutes, 4-4 from three. Middlebury has not had a consistent three point threat since Andrew Harris '08. Brierley is a natural #3. He could fill a need. Exciting thought.

[walzy31]

Amherst and the under

La Paz,
Nice job getting your bet in early. Sometimes that is rewarded.

LINE CHANGE: Tuesday November 29th Spread

Amherst @ Lasell
Amherst -19.0
O/U: 155.5

La Paz with the winning parlay. Nice! Did you pay someone off to miss a FT in the final minutes?


Amherst 94 @ Lasell 61
Amherst -19.0 (Amherst Covers +14)
O/U: 155.5 (Under +0.5)

Fun seeing the boys live tonight. The usual suspects came through as Barrise had 11 pts 12 reb, Toomey with 20pts and 4a, and Workman with 15, 3a and 4s. Holmes stepped up in a big way with Kaasila sick with a cold (only 9 minutes), finishing with 21pts and 9reb in 24 minutes.

It was also good to see Toomey get rested in both halves since someone said he was under the weather earlier in the week. It also allowed Kalema a chance to run the show. Things started clicking for Kalema in the second half (especially defensively) and I hope he'll continue to improve.

Williamson had the dunk of the game. Bertanza (Lasell) had the assist of the game with a no-look two-handed shovel in traffic to a cutting big man. There were some odd plays mixed in there, including a NUMBER of strange turnovers by Lasell (passing to the bench) throughout the game and an odd missed 3pt attempt by an Amherst reserve towards the end of the game.

Amherst took 3 or 4 times down the court to figure Lasell's press out, and then it was a lot of easy layups until they pulled the press off. Too much length and athleticism, plus 3-4 ball handlers on the court most of the time.

Respect for the Lasell janitor with the mop who was running up and down the court along with the flow of play (just like an official). You don't see many janitors getting in their cardio while watching the game.

[walzy31]

Very one-sided game tonight for Middlebury. Hard to evaluate. No one played more than 23 minutes. Lynch scored 19 on 7-9 shooting.

Brierley had 20 in 16 minutes, 4-4 from three. Middlebury has not had a consistent three point threat since Andrew Harris '08. Brierley is a natural #3. He could fill a need. Exciting thought.

I wouldn't want to leave the Wolf-man open the past couple seasons...
The big three win easy tonight. I have a feeling that could be typed quite often this season.

[OchoLoko41]

Nice record setting win for the Cardinals last night.  Shasha Brown reached 1,000 points in record time for a mens basketball player.

It was far from a one man performance though with Jason Mendell breaking out of this mini slump to score an extremely efficient 22 points on only 9 shots and Glen Thomas throwing up a double double in only 21 minutes.

On the freshman watch Chris "Air Canada" Tugman has been giving the Cardinals good minutes in big man relief (7 pts 6 brds in 15 min last night).  Its going to be nice watching this cadre of Wesleyan forwards mature through the season

[Colby Hoops]

Colby grabs their first win under Strahorn, topping Fisher behind Ben Foreman's 20 pts on 7-10 shooting.  Couple of tough losses before this in New York.  Also worth mentioning Eric Beaulieu, who didn't do much last night but was dominant in their two losses in New York.

On another note, Bowdoin drops another surprising game, this time to Southern Maine.  Wasn't Hanley's fault as he put up 32 and 18.  Hanley was 12-19, rest of the team 14-51.  Very surprised that Bowdoin has struggled this much.

[LaPaz]

Lapaz is now 4-0 aganist the spread....When do i get to put some real dough on the table..HOw about an early Amherst v Springfield line and some other games for the week.

[nescac1]

I am surprised by Bowdoin's struggles too, Colby Hoops.  Justin Nowell, who was the third cog last year, has barely played this year, I wonder if he is hurt?  Even still, two early losses does not bode well.  Right now Midd and Amherst are playing like a big two, Williams third, and everyone else somewhere behind, but I am optimistic that Williams will improve. 

Midd continues to look dominant even without its star, very impressive.  Seems like a very good first year class for the Panthers. 

The three Maker quotes in the Williams game recap are telling: http://williams.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/releases/20111129n0qi1n.  He is as positive as any coach you will find, and it's rare you hear him this upset:

"I think it's the second straight game Daniel [Wohl] has led us in scoring as a first-year," Williams head coach Mike Maker said. "He has a lot of ability. His contributions have been so meaningful. We are going to keep looking for those contributions, but it's a team game. We need other guys to make contributions as well."

"This second time in my tenure I did not have guys ready to play," Maker said. "I take responsibility for that. To my players credit they responded favorably. We still have a long to way go."

"I thought RPI controlled the game from the opening tip. I thought they were ready to play, and that they played with spirit and enthusaisam necessary at college level neccessary to be successful," Maker said.

I expect that the Ephs will come out with a lot more passion in their next few games, and hopefully more cohesiveness, after finally getting a few days of practice together as a healthy unit.   Williams under Maker has always been very adept at defending the three, but not this year to-date.  Look for that to change in a hurry ...

[Old Guy]

I wouldn't want to leave the Wolf-man open the past couple seasons.. - Walzy31

That's certainly true. It's when Jake Wolfin hits the three that's so impressive. He's ice water. His threes often come at crucial points in the action, daggers late in the game. His % last year from the arc overall was .315 - and he does so many different things at the point that I think his identity is not "shooter." But don't leave him open with the game on the line.

[eph partisan]

Looks like Amherst and Middlebury are on a real roll.

I am just hoping that the early-season trials for the Ephs will lead to success later.

I expect that the Ephs will come out with a lot more passion in their next few games, and hopefully more cohesiveness, after finally getting a few days of practice together as a healthy unit.   Williams under Maker has always been very adept at defending the three, but not this year to-date.  Look for that to change in a hurry ...

Although the quote was not ultimately published, Maker also said that he was excited to get a few practices with the whole squad under the team's belt. This will be the first week where everyone is on the floor at the same time for an entire string of practices. So, Maker agrees with you, nescac1.

Some more analysis of the Ephs' game last night:

Although the team is hypothetically "healthy," it is really clear (at least to me) that healthy only means all the guys are on the court, nothing more.

The biggest piece that's missing is James Wang at his most explosive self. He's not making shots he has made in his sleep the past two seasons, both open threes and drives in the lane in crowds. He dug deep and turned it on for a stretch in the second half, making two key buckets, but on the whole he looks a little off. I think his play is going to ultimately determine how well the Ephs can do this year. As crucial as Robertson is for the Ephs, and as good as Klemm and Wohl are looking right now (and Wohl will only improve), I don't think Williams is going to reach its potential unless Wang plays at his best.

Wohl is going to be crucial for the Ephs this year. He made some rookie mistakes (5 TOs and several passes that should have been assists but weren't because of the quality of pass), but he singlehandedly turned the game around in the second half, going on a 7-0 run by himself; he also has great athleticism, as he threw down on one Engineer in authoritative fashion and made several other very athletic plays.

Robertson is ... so good. Clutch bucket in the final minute and great defense – we don't keep deflections officially, but I counted eight for him. Rooke-Ley looks like he's been hurt – which, obviously, he has. Epley made some big plays. He's going to be crucial.

Emerson and Mayer have to rebound better. But we knew that.

Here's hoping Maker gets the crew together and gets them to where they need to be.

Nice record setting win for the Cardinals last night.  Shasha Brown reached 1,000 points in record time for a mens basketball player.

Sasha Brown is very good. It's fun to watch him play. Congrats to him.

[lefrakenstein]

Couldn't let Jeff Holmes' performance last night against Lasell go without comment ... 21 points in 24 minutes to go along with 9 boards, including 4 on the offensive glass. Great to see him assert himself in a rare opportunity to start due to Kaasila's cold. I still wish Holmes got more minutes, but I don't want to start that whole discussion up again.

So far, the major positive for Amherst on the season seems to be the emergence of Workman and Barrise as every night stars. With those two and Toomey, Amherst has a troika of players they can count on for consistently significant contributions. I disagree also with the poster who questioned the Jeff's depth, it seems like the team should run at least nine deep this year with the emergence of Killian and Kalema off of the bench.

On the negative side, the free throw % is a little worrisome at this point. The trouble is coming from the bigs. Holmes (8-12) and Kaasila (4-10) are a combined 55%. Throw in Alex Levine (0-2) and Logan Buckner (3-6) and the percentage gets even worse. Clearly Meehan's frequent and accurate presence at the line will be missed in that category. It's also too bad that Waller hasn't yet followed up his play in last year's NCAA tournament. Seems like he's been in a bit of a shooting slump. I'm sure he'll snap out of it as he gets further into the season. Finally, it's too bad we haven't seen anything from Ray Barry, the Jeff's most hyped first year. I suppose he must be injured?

[centfan]

old guy...i like wolfin alot, but 31% from 3 is not particularly impressive

[amh63]

A number random comments about conference teams in general and the emerging Amherst team depth.
Hope there will be a poster for Hamilton...did anyone notice that the first player of the week was the big man from Hamilton?
Bowdoin's lost also puzzled me...not to put down its opponent.  It seems that the FY seven footer has played but is not contributing much so far this season.  No younger players have stepped up it seems.  Still expect the team will be a factor late in the season.
Waller last night seemed down as he walked off the floor.....after picking up another foul.  Barrise made an attempt to hand slap Waller as he came back in...but was not even noticed by Waller it seems.
What is surprising to me is the time that FY Levine is getting.  Any comments by posters that have seen his play...strengths, etc.
The Lasell's smaller players did seem to bother Amherst...based on the TO/steals numbers posted by Amherst. 
It appears that Trinity is asserting itself....or finding it's identity.  Any opinions from the Trinity posters?
Though it is early in the season, it appears that Conn. maybe bringing up the rear wrt to conference standings.  A little harsh, I know...but again, Conn. can be an opponent that will surprise you if you overlook them.

[jayhawk]

Amherst Notes
Ray Barry is hurt- not suiting up
Workman all around game is impressive, he is moving extremely well- has had previous issues with health-now  has best all around game I have seen since he arrived. He can jump and drive and shoot and bring the ball up against the press

Jeff Holmes is also moving well. Jeff unfortunately has had some prior surgeries and moving the best I have seen him since he arrived.

David Waller is engaged and looks to be fine.

Present Back-up point for Amherst has confidence and did a fine job- As competition improves will have  better idea
As team nice balance amongst the five players and bench so far- frosh are great but not receiving playing time right now