MBB: NESCAC

[LaPaz]

Babson and over

[amh63]

Amherst's next game is tonight against Babson and will be video/webcast at 7 PM free, thanks to Babson.
Some "in the stands" or is it on-line comments.  Whatever!
My last post said "dull" games....plural.  The other game watched for awhile was the Wash. U. versus an 1-5 team game.  It soon was becoming a blow-out game.  I like to watch Wash. U games in that it comes with broadcasters that are knowledgeable and experienced.  Also, Wash. U plays a good brand of Div.3 basketball....and maybe a future opponent in the post season......they are also one on the women BB side  with Amherst's WBB meeting Wash. U. the last two years in the Final 4.
Now to "clear the air" on this board a bit.  I try at times some "dry humor" and make some "tongue in cheek" remarks that I see have not worked recently.  My attempted dry humor comments usually arise when it is directed at Williams.  For non-NESCAC posters, this is more an inside rivalry that has gone on too long and gets out of hand at times, IMO.  Somehow I must have bothered some Williams' poster with my last post....dealing with money and/or BB matters and someone dinged me with a -K! If it was nescac1, I apologize!  If it was anyone else, I really do not care.
ECSU....Amherst on-line webcast this year is improved.  There is new equipment, I believe, that allows better streaming AND there are broadcasters too....even for WBB.  Unlike the Amherst ice hockey  webcast which has a professional broadcaster (does it for free), the broadcasters are paid students and as expected their call of the games can lose focus and can become bias.   But the webcasts are free.
Where else but on this board can you hear such uplifting words (being serious here) as Theorem (from JUMBOLAND) and Hypothesizing (from WALZY).  Jumboland, welcome aboard!...again.  Your recent posting of Tufts' games really shows me that you are a student of the game and makes my posting very, very "primitive".
Now to some Amherst BB comments.  There is another new assistant on the Amherst bench. a Mr. Al Wolejko.  Ron Buelow, the senior assistant that has supported Coach Hixon for decades is no longer there.  Ron, I believe, did much of the scouting of games and often taught the younger asst. coaches the ropes, etc.  Must have missed some announcement.
I tend to forget that it is only early Dec. and finals and the end of the semesters are coming up.  The games played before January, IMO, are for building a TEAM for the rest of the season.....with the meshing of new players with the more experienced players.  Conference teams are somewhat handicapped by the 2-week later start then the rest of the Div.3 schools/opponents.  This may explain Coach Hixon's player rotation in the recent games....giving he has all new assistant coaches for the first time.
Though Amherst has 5 seniors contributing and 4 starters returning, Hixon knows he must develop a strong bench from the talented players he has brought in.  As nescac1 pointed out in his post, Waller, Barrise, Workman, and Toomey need backups/relief for the tough  games ahead.
I posted that Toomey was paired with Kalema  on the floor.  Both drive, shoot the outside shot and are pg.  Last year, Meeham at 6'4" was the leader and senior pg.  Toomey came in and shared the floor and did his thing and learned.  Toomey is the pg this year and being such he is the leader of the team.  Opponents realize that in the games played.  Toomey is pressed hard bringing the ball up, bumped outside while running the offense.  He is being denied the drive lane more.  His driving and rebounding last year wore him down by the end of the season, IMO.  Several changes are being made...or are being tried out....as I see it.  In a pressing situation, Workman is being used to bring the ball up and saving Toomey energy and time to survey the defense.  Toomey is taking more 3-point shots outside when he is denied the inside pass and the drive lane.  His outside shot is improved and is better than Meehan's.  Workman will also be used to pass inside, using his length....like Meehan did last season.  Workman does have an outside shot but loves to go inside with his quickness.   In the long run, Toomey will get relief on the floor.  Looking  for a pg to run the team while Toomey gets  rest on the bench is still ongoing.  Kalema does not have the experience and the court judgement presently.  His decision making at times is questionable and results in turnovers at present.

[ECSUalum]

+1K for amh63, been meaning to give you one anyway for keen insights into NESCAC BB in general, and of course AC athletics in particular.

[amh63]

Thanks ECSUalumni!  I watched one ugly game tonight on line at Babson.  Even the broadcaster, who was very good ,called it an ugly game in the first ten minutes.....when nether Amherst or Babson could hit a basket.  The score was something like 10-6!  Really.  Toomey along with Barrise and Workman who were hitting at a 43% clip from outside, were 0-10 or something.  The game ended with the score Amherst 61-Babson 50.  Babson scored the last 4 points when Amherst subs were in.  Babson shot around 25% for the game and Amherst was only a little better.  Toomey did not make a basket and was 0-8 from outside.  His points were from the line.  What is more important here is that A. Toomey was hurt in the last 2 minutes of the game as he was running out the clock.  It was a knee injury of sorts.  He was fouled, but could not shoot his foul shots and limped off the floor to be treated.  Amherst would have taken the lost rather than an injury to Toomey.  All through the game, Toomey was bumped and jumped blocked outside without a call.  Coach Hixon complained and finally near the end of the game, a foul was called on a hard foul.  It is a scary situation at this time.  The boxscore will provide the details of the game and the stats of the "ugly" game.  The first half ended with Amherst with a 4 point lead and both teams scoring in the twenties.  I thought the Amherst team was playing "sick"...with little energy....and messing with Walzy's predictions.  Should give Babson's defense some credit here.  The broadcaster basically stated the same thing wrt to Babson at the end of the first half.....Holding Amherst who was averaging over 90 points a game to less then 30 points at the half.
Hope the coaches and players learn something from this game......like taking out Toomey when Amherst had built up a 17 point lead with about 5 minutes to go.   Strange things are going on in the conference.  Wang of Williams and now Toomey of Amherst, the two best point guards in the conference are hurt in the late part of the games.  Here's hoping both return soon.

[nescac1]

AMH63, I did not ding your karma ... 

I had a feeling Babson-Amherst would be low scoring, Babson, year in and year out, seems to play ugly -- tough, physical, good D, deep, short on star power, limited O, seems like a typical Babson team.

Very concerning news re: Toomey, hopefully he is OK.  Even if OK now, once Amherst starts playing a more packed schedule full of more consistently competitive games next semester, Hixon is going to have to adjust how he plays him.  I see that he played 38 minutes prior to the injury -- that is just too much for a guy who is asked to be both the primary ball-handler and top scorer, who will get beat up a lot all year (and who visible wore down last season), but is only 6'1, to play throughout the season.  Kalema seems to be playing pretty well, you'd think he could handle at least 6-7 mpg to give Toomey a breather even in really close games.   Maybe if Ray Barry can get healthy he will help take pressure off as well ...

It was Robertson, not Wang, who got hurt (although Wang continues to recover from his back surgery, my hope is that after the long Christmas break to rest up, he will return to his typical form).  But the way Robertson is playing, he is right now the equal of any guard in NESCAC (I'd say the top echelon is Robertson, Wang, Toomey, and Sha Brown, in no particular order), if he can only stay healthy for a consistent stretch -- he had two pretty significant injuries last year, and now this is his second injury already this year ... hopefully he will have better fortune in the second half of the season.  This article notes that, like Toomey, he limped off the court, but does not give further details:

http://www.thetranscript.com/ci_19493992

Really, the key to the Ephs season will be weather Wang and Robertson can both play at close to 100 percent once conference play starts.  If so, I really like the Ephs' chances, given that the front court has played better than anticipated with the emergence of Wohl, Epley and Mayer as very solid players. 

Speaking of which, interesting to read the raves from both Wang and Maker about Mayer in that article.  He is in my view the most skilled big guy Williams has had since at least Rob Bice, maybe earlier.  He is obviously not the athlete, rebounder, or defender that Whittington or Ben Coffin was (few in D-3 are of course), but not many 6'9 guys have his combo of touch, passing ability, ball-handling, and coordination running the floor.  If he continues to get stronger, more physical, and more aggressive on defense and the glass, he could develop into an all-NESCAC center by as early as next season. 

[Old Guy]

If Mayer's so good, why didn't he crack the rotation last year, even a little bit (I looked on the Wms' hoop website for his minutes but couldn't find last year's stats)?

[walzy31]

Thursday December 8th Spread

Amherst @ Babson
Amherst -16.5
O/U: 160.5

Amherst 61 @ Babson 50
Amherst -16.5 (Babson Covers +5.5)
O/U: 160.5 (Under +49.5...yikes)

Amherst and under.

1 for 2

Babson and over

1 for 2

[nescac1]

Old Guy, first, Mayer did play quite a bit for a frosh big guy last year, 23 games.  Centers at Williams rarely play much as frosh -- even Whittington rarely played his first year, for example (before he got hurt, ending his season in all events).  Plus Mayer was stuck behind two veteran players in Whittington and Emerson.

Moreover, Mayer wasn't really ready to contribute much last year -- he was hurt most of his senior year in high school, so was rusty, and he wasn't physically ready either (he put on 15-20 pounds in the offseason this year).  He did flash some tremendous skills last year, but also had trouble vs. more physically mature players, and with decision-making (took way too many threes for a big guy).  This year he seems to be focusing a lot more on interior play, and has also improved in other arenas, like free throw shooting.  Even now, he still has a long way to go, but he does possess a very unusual skill set for his size in D-3, and has the potential to be special down the road if he keeps working hard and developing ... usually it is junior year that big guys really emerge, remember, so I'd say that, if he keeps playing at close to his current level (I am sure his shooting will cool off a BIT, I can't imagine him staying at 72 percent from the field, especially for a guy who gets some of his points from the perimeter), he is a bit ahead of schedule. 

[OchoLoko41]

Wesleyan won another close one, snatching a win from Westfield State last night in the closing minutes.  Pretty balanced scoring with Brown getting 15, Beresford 14, and Mendell 10.

Coming down the stretch into finals the Cardinals are facing the Merchant Marine Academy that has plagued them with disciplined physical play in the past.  This game will certainly be a measuring stick for how the Cardinals have progressed

[Bucket]

If Mayer's so good, why didn't he crack the rotation last year, even a little bit (I looked on the Wms' hoop website for his minutes but couldn't find last year's stats)?

OG: Mayer played well against us in the NESCAC title game. I remember that he made enough of an impression on me that I thought "Man, he's gonna be good next year."

[Old Guy]

Re: Mayer. I just remember when the Ephs had a 7' center (in a previous regime) who couldn't get off the bench while the rest of us were making do with 6'3," 6'4" in the paint.

I am concerned about Skidmore (18-10 last year; 4-1 this year) tonight for the Panthers. Last year's game at Midd was close till the end (a 13 pt win). It was a very physical game, "physical" here being a euphemism for intentionally rough, borderline dirty. I realize that contention is like criticizing the refs after a game - a useless exercise, sounds like sour grapes. But . . .

Skidmore was was charged with 32 fouls (Middlebury committed 15); three of their players fouled out. Middlebury shot 49 foul shots. Skidmore had the edge in field goals made, 29-24. Skidmore contested every shot at the hoop, usually resulting with the shooter on the deck. It seemed an obvious strategy. Scary at times. With the game at Skidmore tonight, what the officials allow could be a big factor. Middlebury is not really a finesse team, but neither are we a particularly physical team, even though we play tough defense. We shoot foul shots better this year (with Locke gone): 74% so far vs 66% last year.

(It seems ironic to me to worry about Skidmore's rough play in men's hoops. When I was a student at Middlebury, we often traveled to Saratoga Springs - what a great town! - to spend time with wonderful Skidmore girls. I have this same visceral reaction to men's teams at Colby-Sawyer, Vassar, and Wheaton, other formerly women's schools. Only an issue for my generation, I suspect.)

[ac08]

The Babson game wasn't pretty, but I enjoyed the ambiance. One fan, dressed in a Beaver-green onesie, loudly followed the ball up and down the sideline. Did he make it onto the webcast? I sure hope so. Anyway, most of his chants were limited to, "It's okay, it's okay" and "Nice hustle!" That actually captures the essence of Babson's play pretty nicely. He, sort of like his team, fizzled towards the end, but you have to respect the passion.

So here's my thing, and it may sound a little funky, but...

I wish Amherst's shooters shot from farther back. Well maybe not all of them, Toomey pulls from pretty deep, but in general I wish they'd start about one step back. I'd imagine it doesn't take most out of their range, and it makes it more difficult for the D to close out. The (intended) result would be more daggers, and that's always a plus...always.

[amh63]

Interesting post Old Guy.  Though I had to look up "visceral", it didn't happen to me, I think.  The women only schools around Amherst remain such and UMass was never an opponent in BB or football.
Still searching around to see if the Midd. vs. Skidmore game has any sort of coverage.  If not, will have to take the wife to dinner.

[amh63]

Attention!  There appears to be LiveStats for the Midd. vs. Skidmore game tonight.  On the Skidmore website, it is to happen at 8 PM, not the 7PM posted on D3hoops.  Seems there is a double header between the schools with the women's game starting at 6PM.
    Still have to go out for dinner.

[walzy31]

Still searching around to see if the Midd. vs. Skidmore game has any sort of coverage.  If not, will have to take the wife to dinner.

Tough wager to lose...my kind of move though!


"Honey, I bet you that the Middlebury/Skidmore game is being webcasted tonight." - amh63
"If you're wrong you have to take me out to dinner and if you're right then you can watch the game." -amh63's wife
"Deal!" - amh63
"You're on!" - amh63's wife

Attention!  There appears to be LiveStats for the Midd. vs. Skidmore game tonight.  On the Skidmore website, it is to happen at 8 PM, not the 7PM posted on D3hoops.  Seems there is a double header between the schools with the women's game starting at 6PM.
    Still have to go out for dinner.

"Well... is the game webcasted or are we going out to dinner?" - amh63's wife
"It is being live statted. Can I watch?" - amh63
"No. We will be eating at Benihana's at 7. I just made reservations." - amh63's wife