MBB: NESCAC

[walzy31]

Bowdoin had four players hit 3+ threes tonight. 16-25 (64.0%) for the game!

[pjunito]

Great posts guys... I felt like I was at those games. This is what College Basketball is all about! Should be an exciting playoffs in the NESCAC!

[grabtherim]

Great posts guys... I felt like I was at those games. This is what College Basketball is all about! Should be an exciting playoffs in the NESCAC!

Congrats to the Lord Jeffs on a great win although heartbreaking for Midd fans.  The play in the league has been fantastic this season.  The talent is spread over more teams than in recent memory.  I would not be surprised about any lower seed winning next week with the exception of Amherst who should have the easiest time in the first round.  Midd vs Williams has to be the best 1st round matchup in any D3 conference.  Great games to come.

[walzy31]

For the sixth time in seven years, it is time to get crazy! Today is draft day for the 2011-2012 All-NESCAC All-Crazy team.

Some of the readers may not be as familiar with the history of this tradition as others, so I would like to give a very brief introduction to the concept that was popularized last year thanks to D3Hoops.com godfather, Pat Coleman, posting links to the All-Crazy team on Twitter and Facebook. We are hoping to attract more attention this season.

It all started during the 2005-2006 basketball season with Wesleyan's Blake Curry (a Junior at the time). Blake embodied all things crazy: on the court antics and attitude (40 foot threes mid-shot clock; throwing his headband both in anger and in excitement; appearing on scouting reports with the words "Will shoot from ANYWHERE.") as well as his off the court accomplishments as an aspiring rapper (http://wesleyanargus.com/2006/10/27/student-athlete-rapper-blake-curry-07-has-sights-set-high/). As a division three basketball player at a small New England college, it doesn't get much crazier than this. Blake was a back-to-back 1st overall selection and is an All-Crazy Hall of Famer. He is legend and has set the bar. (side-note: he now is the Founder & CEO of Chester Green Music http://chestergreenmusic.com/blog/).

Similar to the traditional All-NESCAC post-season accolades that features 10 players, a coach, and some other awards, the All-NESCAC All-Crazy team is a compilation of what those knowledgeable in the conference have witnessed this season. All submissions are kept anonymous and result in great entertainment for the masses. Past 1st teamers include sprinting onto the court during a game wearing full warm-ups to participate in a fight and get ejected, taking 15 minutes to lace basketball sneakers before every practice and game, and committing 16 turnovers in a single game. Here is a link to last year's team: http://www.d3boards.com/index.php?topic=4491.9840

THE RULES
Nicknames are strongly encouraged, but are not required.
Per the 2011 draft, Wesleyan must be allotted at least one first-teamer.
All stories are based on facts and rumors and may not be 100% non-fictional.
Craziness is required.

[walzy31]

With the first pick of the 2012 All-NESCAC All-Crazy team draft...I select, Greg St. Jean from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.

1st Pick – Greg "Saint" St. Jean (Wesleyan University)
Greg is approaching legendary crazy status himself as this is his third consecutive season being named to the 1st team. As a Freshman he was unanimously the most physical and hardest fouling player in the entire league. Last year, he was the most animated captain in the conference despite suffering a season-ending injury during preseason and never appearing in a single game. This season there was a clear maturation from Saint as a Freshman to Saint as a Junior.

While he continues to instill fear in opponents who drove the lane in his direction, it is a different kind of fear. Guards and forwards attack the hoop not worried about their livelihood, limbs and bones, but rather their personal foul count. Saint mentioned to Wesleyan student reporters that "the FIFA World Cup really has inspired me this season...I know I can't lead the NESCAC in any official statistical categories this season, but I needed something new and innovative to continue capturing the hearts of my fans. OFDPG is my invention and my way of leaving a mark on my time at Wesleyan and the NESCAC without upsetting the mothers of opposing players."

OFDPG, or Offensive Fouls Drawn Per Game, is an interesting statistic that I believe has been invented by Saint. If a player draws two offensive fouls in 20 minutes of playing time (half of one game), they are in the top 10 percentile of OFDPM players in the NESCAC with a 4.00. The average NESCAC OFDPG is 0.75. Greg St. Jean is the conference leader with a remarkable 8.26. That's more than EIGHT offensive fouls drawn per every 40 minutes of playing time (19 in 92 minutes to be exact) -Simply remarkable- Earlier this year, he drew three consecutive offensive fouls in a span of less than one minute. One was fighting through a screen where he ran into his own teammate and the ref still bought it. Unfortunately and not surprisingly, opposing players' moms still are upset with St. Jean's antics.

The Crazy-Team is about insanity, but also innovation. Red-shirting his Sophomore season to leave the door open for a possible 5-peat on the All-Crazy team 1st team and inventing nonsensical statistical categories is what this team is all about. You truly are a saint, Saint!

[walzy31]

Here is the rest of the 1st Team!

2nd Pick – Darren Buck (Amherst College)
The crowd at the draft location is quiet and looks at each other quickly before applauding politely. They are unsure of who Darren is, but then all come to common consensus that he must be one of the 26 players on the Lord Jeff roster. When they see Darren walk up the steps and receive his jersey with the Blake Curry headband logo and a large number 2 representing that he was the second pick, they all nod and clap louder. "Ohh THAT guy...yeah he is crazy." Little did they really know how crazy of a pick this was...

Darren is known primarily for five basketball-related activities, all of which he exhibits before pregame warm-ups officially are underway: 1) Wall Dribble 2) Quadruple Jump, Shot 3) Solo Fast-Break -AKA "One on Zero"- 4) Shoeless Pivots 5) Tennisketball

These are common drills in the practice playbook of Buck. Let me further explain each drill:

Wall Dribble – Similar to standing on the court and practicing dribble techniques, the wall dribble is when you practice your dribbling facing a concrete wall. The purpose is to power dribble with one hand, and then cross over to your other hand and repeat. The trick is to touch the wall you are facing with the hand you just crossed over with, before the receiving hand touches the ball (YouTube explains it better than I can: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_zmYKQsZyI&feature=related). An effective way to annoy a defender while protecting the ball in late-game situations.

Quadruple Jump, Shot – There is no typo in the title of this drill. Rather than shooting a boring old jump shot from the elbow or the baseline, to jump three times with the ball in a shooting position and then release on the fourth jump. Probably a travel in most organized basketball leagues, it almost always confuses defenders and allows for an open look at the hoop (especially when implementing alone).

Solo Fast-Break – Ever participated in the drill "3 on 2, 2 on 1?" Have you ever seen a 40 yard dash? The solo fast-break is a variation of two. The solo-fast break is taking the ball from where the half-court line intersects with the sideline, and sprinting at the basket as fast as possible to lay it in with no defenders. Both right-hand and left-hand fast break practice is encouraged. If energetic enough on any given day, attempted dunks are the end goal (although very rare to see, a full-speed dunk would be very tough to defend).

Shoeless Pivots – Take your basketball shoes off but leave your socks on. Walk to the elbow and establish a high post position and an interior pivot foot just outside of the paint. Now pivot twice in one direction, reverse pivot twice to your initial position, reverse pivot once, and reverse pivot one final time. The drill is now complete. This drill can be done with or without a basketball in your hand. It will help you get free from double-teams when you have picked up your dribble somewhere in the middle of the court. (must be completed in five seconds or less to be worthwhile).

Tennisketball – Just playing basketball with a tennis ball.

Opposing teams have seen most of these antics as they walk into LeFrak 90-120 minutes before tip off. They probably think "what an All-Crazy suck up" and other jealous sentiments. What they probably don't know, is that Buck is not on the Amherst roster, but rather just a student who likes working on his game in basketball gear around the proximity of the team and opposing players. He is actually the first non-rostered college (See: CJ Moss 2011) student to make the All-Crazy team. Do you blame me for drafting him? He almost went #1.

3rd Pick – Eric "Mountain Man" Beaulieu (Colby College)
Northern Maine attracts a certain breed of individual: Outdoorsy, fresh-air loving, and yes...crazy. Colby's captain leads the Mules by example...and I don't mean in work ethic and technique. As one anonymous tipster told me "I nominate Eric Beaulieu. Colby today was in white uniforms. All Colby players had on white undershirts or no under****s. Beaulieu had on either a gray undershirt or a really dirty white undershirt. His shoes looked like he was just coming in from gardening. One black sock--one white sock. He has scraggly beard. He looked like a counterculture guy in a rec league game...or straight from a 1970s college basketball video. I liked it."

I like it too. It's a similar to pirate Jimmy "JOK" O'Keefe, but different enough that it warrants a slot on the team. I am really sold on the mismatching socks and the potential for the fact that maybe he was actually gardening before the game...or maybe he has a small garden somewhere in the athletics complex. Beaulieu also picked up a technical foul in the Middlebury game, which represents the lone Mule tech this season and is 49.2% from the line on the season.

4th Pick – John "Stripe Champ" Swords (Bowdoin College)
Last year, Andrew Locke ran away with the Crazy team FT shooting crown with an impressive 35.5%. The majority of his misses were awkwardly released flat shots that grazed the netting and fell about 1-2 feet short of going in. John saw what his tall compatriot accomplished and one-upped him.

Shooting a smooth 31.6% from the charity stripe over 287 minutes of play, John's misses are less predictable. Some hit the backboard only. Others hit the corner of the box and the rim. Yet others fall short of the backboard and wide of the rim. The only explanation for this variation is to be noticed for the All-Crazy team. One message I received said "it is the worst free throw I have seen in 16 years of watching organized basketball."

Well if that's true, we can't let some other team like the Washington Generals draft him...he's our guy and will be in the game at crunch time to take all of our foul shots. I heard he approached the Bowdoin Baseball coach (Mike Connolly) and asked if he could join the team in the spring. He said, "I am tall and hit .316 during winter ball."

5th Pick – Carter "The Absolute Athlete" Trent (Trinity College)
"Carter has become a basketball playing machine. His coaches have done their best to put the biggest engine, in his 140 pound frame." -  Arkansas Channel 7 News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abdprqyraRw&feature=related

Question: Where does one find a link to such a video?
Well where else other than at Carter's own recruitment website. http://www.trentc.com/
Auto-first round All-Crazy pick move.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I please present you with the
2012 All NESCAC All-Crazy First Team

1st – Greg St. Jean (Wesleyan)
2nd – Darren Buck (Amherst)
3rd – Eric Beaulieu (Colby)
4th – John Swords (Bowdoin)
5th – Carter Trent (Trinity)

[walzy31]

6th Pick – CJ Moss (Tufts University)
Moving up one spot from last year, CJ Moss is the first Freshman to be receiving his second All-Crazy accolade. Last year, a recruiting article featured a quote from Moss that said he chose Tufts because he didn't want to ride the bench for two years at a D1 school just to say he went D1. I publicly hoped that he wouldn't crack the Tufts rotation this year, because that would have been grounds for a 1st team selection. However, Moss ended up having a stellar freshman season and is part of the short list of candidates for NESCAC ROY. A year ago if you told me that, I would have said that Moss probably wouldn't make the Crazy squad this season. However, the key detail you left out when you told me he would be an immediate contributor was that he also has the most tattoos on his body of anyone in the NESCAC. In fact, he dawns more ink than the rest of the conference combined (the 'CAC is historically an inkless league). Playing like a fearless Allen Iverson at Georgetown didn't land you here...looking like Allen Iverson did. Welcome back to the second team!

7th Pick – Logan "Get Yours" Buckner (Amherst College)
Logan was on the court last year when Bobby "Get Yours" Bellotti scored an uncontested layup in a 20+ loss as time expired as Logan's team was walking off the court and shaking hands. For Bobby's actions, he earned the 10th pick in last year's draft. Logan moved up three spots for a similar Get Yours move. Let me set the stage for you:

Up by 16 with the shot clock off, the Amherst reserves had possession of the ball and were running the clock out. With 15 seconds left and token defense being played, Buckner aggressively requested to be passed the ball. The ball handler refused, held the ball for five seconds, and then passed to a first-year teammate at the right wing of the three point line. Buckner sprinted to the right block and aggressively requested the ball again. The freshman with the ball was surprised and threw Buckner the pass with 3.4 seconds on the clock. Buckner received the ball, took a dribble, and JUST BARELY got an uncontested shot off in time to beat the game clock and secure his spot on this team. Starting fights or trying to start fights is grounds for All-Crazy hardware. Gotta get yours!

8th Pick – Ziggy Zacks (Wesleyan University)
http://cdn.msgvarsity.com/polopoly_fs/1.357280.1296431361!image/355823339.jpg_gen/derivatives/WL/355823339.jpg
They sometimes say the hair makes the man, but I say it's the hair/name combo that makes the Crazy team. Changing your name to Ziggy Zacks is like getting down on one knee and begging to be noticed by the All-Crazy drafting committee. Allegedly, Zacks and Saint butt heads and this has led to a void in minutes played for Zacks so far during his freshman campaign. I would like to request Coach Reilly play Ziggy Zacks so that we could hear play by play of "Ziggy Zacks zig zagging up the court with the score still zero zero" and "Zach Lynch zips the ball across the defense's zone to Ziggy Zacks..."
Zucchini
Zurich
Zinc

9th Pick – John "The Hammer" Bullitt (Conn College)
Bullitt led the conference in personal fouls (78) and foul outs (5) while playing 497 minutes. That equates to a foul committed every six minutes on the court. In other words, 3.14 fouls per half or 6.28 fouls per game. That is fantastic! The Bates duo of John Squires and Ed Bogdanovich were also top 5 in fouls committed, but both averaged less than 5.00 fouls per game (which is the legal amount allotted to each player by the NCAA). Bullitt would even average a foul out of NBA games if they were only 40 minutes.

10th Pick – James Wang (Williams College)
James Wang was a two-time 1st team All-NESCAC player the past two seasons and deserved every bit of the recognition. Unfortunately for the Williams team, Wang underwent surgery this offseason and is now less effective than years past (a common side effect of surgery and getting older). Wang is now less explosive and moves slowly as if aging far beyond his years. When Wang tries to shoot and score, he does not get up as high as he used to. Williams misses the Wang that could captivate an entire gym of people. Williams' Wang often exploded for lots of scoring at the hole. The Williams faithful chants "Six-Foot-Wang!" and opposing fans chant "Tie-Knee-Wang!" After graduating, this 20-something year old Wang will be missed by Williams' fans and All-Crazy fans alike.

2012 All NESCAC All-Crazy Second Team

6th – CJ Moss (Tufts)
7th – Logan Buckner (Amherst)
8th – Ziggy Zacks (Wesleyan)
9th – John Bullitt (Conn College)
10th – James Wang (Williams)

I See You – Don't Give Up on Your Crazy Team Dreams (aka Honorable Mention)
Ben Foreman
Daniel Wohl
Matt Vadas
Landrus Lewis
Matt Dean
Connor Johnson
Dylan Sinnickson
Rob Harrigan
John Squires
Brian Galvin
Justin Nowell

Co-Head Coach (Damien "Whitmore" Strahorn – Colby College)
Co-Head Coach (James Cosgrove – Trinity College)
Strahorn – I couldn't be happier with the Mules replacement for legendary coach Dick Whitmore. Strahorn is a spitting image of raving and jumping at officials.

Strahorn is clearly aware that Colby leads the NESCAC in All-Crazy coaching selections and wants to keep it that way

I have not heard an official report of him taking off his loafer to smack the bench during a game, but I have heard that he practices the iconic Whitmore move in his office in front of small audiences. The conference needs more energy and loves technical fouls. We welcome you to yell and scream at the above ten crazies and good luck.
Cosgrove – Sprinting is an important training tool for a basketball coach. Making your team sprint during warm-ups, sprint to and from the scorer's table on substitutions, and sprint to the locker room at halftime lands you as a co-head coach of the All-Crazy team.

Assistant Coach – Tommy Verdell (Bates College)
All-Crazy team history has been made again, as Coach Verdell becomes the first ever assistant coach to make the team (there have admittingly been prior assistant coaches who have been unfairly left off the team). In multiple games this year he attacked his own players for making a good play...jumping off the bench and jacking him up as he ran past the bench on defense or into the huddle for a timeout. The coaching staff containing Strahorn and Verdell's passion and Cosgrove's track coach mentality are perfect compliments for one another.

Alumni Volunteer Coach – Harlan Dodson (Williams College)
Harlan is no stranger to the All-Crazy team. In 2008 he was the 10th pick and last year he went 8th overall. However, this weekend I learned something about him that warrants him returning to the bench. He won't be in uniform but rather be in a suit and holding a clip board. When Strahorn or Cosgrove turn to him and ask him who they should substitute into the game, he will probably answer with something along the lines of "the capital of The Republic of Serbia is Belgrade."

Harlan Dodson can name the capital of every US state AND the capital of all 196 countries in the world. Yeah, that's not normal.

D3Hoops.Com NESCAC Forum Poster – toad22 (Williams College)
This was a close battle as Amh63 made several valiant efforts to repeat as the craziest. However, after Amherst College traveled to Williamstown and defeated Williams College 67-65, toad22 secured the accolade with this GEM:

A gutty, great win for Williams. Never has Williams played with more energy and guts than they did tonight. I will never agree that Williams lost that game. The game was flat out stolen by a series of wrong calls and non-calls in the last 2-3 minutes. From Williams' perspective, the worst officiating I have ever seen (at home) in my 44 years of watching and patricipating in Eph bball. I thought both teams played hard, with such intensity, in fact, that the shooting stats are very subpar. It was a great game, but Williams won the game.

A gutty, great win for Williams.
I will never agree that Williams lost that game.
It was a great game, but Williams won the game.
...
Welcome to the crazy team.

All-NESCAC All-Crazy Hall of Fame
Blake Curry (Wesleyan) – 2007 Inductee
Simon Behan (Middlebury) – 2008 Inductee
Coach Dick Whitmore (Colby) – 2012 Inductee

[nescac1]

Great stuff, as always, Walzy.  I am sad in observing this year's young Williams players that none of them seem to have stepped up to replace Dodson in the all-crazy department.  I do hope that Coach Maker keeps this in mind when recruiting the class of 2016. 

Speaking of Maker, great coach that he may be, he gets my vote for all-crazy coaching strategy of the season, by playing Mike Mayer, the Ephs' leading scorer and rebounder, and possibly the NESCAC leader (definitely in the top three) in both points per minute and PER, not to mention Williams' only consistent low-post threat, less than 20 MPG on the season.  Guy is shooting over 60 percent from the field and over 80 from the line ... not a star defender, but improving, and easily the best offensive option on the Williams squad right now.   He should be getting at least 25 minutes in any game in which he is not in foul trouble. 

[Bucket]

Finally able to offer my thoughts on Midd-Amherst and the year in general.

First, Saturday's game. Such a tough loss for Midd after battling back from a big deficit and to have opportunities to win in regulation and overtime, but what a great game it was--from the quality of the play, the intensity in the gym, the heart and fight of both teams. And I think Old Guy and Walzy had it right--even with the stakes and the intensity, I didn't see any chippiness, any nastiness between the teams and among the players. Always nice to see two great teams go at it as hard as they can and still look each other in the eye and genuinely shake hands after the game.

And what a battle it was. Both teams took the other's best shot and rallied. Either team could have walked out of the gym with a legit victory. A couple of inches, a few seconds were all that separated the two.

Defense was such a big factor--Midd's D on Toomey and Amherst's D on Sharry forced sub-par offensive nights of the two best players in the conference. Yet each was so valuable--as leaders, on the boards, at the free throw line. Even when they faced the best D they've seen all year and struggled to score they were invaluable to their teams, which speaks volumes about both Aaron Toomey and Ryan Sharry.

With Toomey and Sharry knocked off their offensive stride, others had to step up--and they did. Kasilla and Kalema were huge for Amherst. Without them, Midd runs away with it. The same can be said for Kizell and Thompson. Both those guys were so clutch--on both ends of the floor.

Great basketball.

Some random thoughts on the season as we await the NESCAC tournament:

Obviously, I'm focused on this because they are the Panthers' next opponent: Is Williams the best, most dangerous 7 seed in the history of the NESCAC tournament? Yes, they've had subpar performances this year, but against the best (Midd and Amherst), they play their best. Three last-second losses (two on the road) to the head-and-shoulders top two teams in the conference.

I've seen all teams save for Hamilton and Conn this year, and the chatter on the board is correct in my view: the most competitive the conference has been in many years. Tufts and Wesleyan are a big part of this, but so too are Bates and Bowdoin. This should be the best, most competitive NESCAC Final Four ever.

Here's a stunning fact: Unless you wear an Amherst or Williams jersey, there is not a player in this league who has experienced a win against Middlebury. That's crazy and a huge testament to where Jeff Brown has taken the Middlebury program.

Correlation: In conference play during Ryan Sharry's career, Midd is 36-4. (And the Panthers overall record during this stretch is 100-12.) Sharry has played in three NESCAC title games (winning two), and boy do I hope he gets to a fourth. Williams awaits in the quarters. Unreal.

My all-conference team: Ryan Sharry (POY), Aaron Toomey, Will Hanley, Shasha Brown, and John Squires. Much debate about that fifth choice, no doubt, but if you average a double-double in conference play you eek it out. Can make a very convincing case for so many others, including Joey Kizell, Matt Vadas, Willy Workman, Nate Robertson, Michael Mayer, Mike Callaghan, Scott Anderson.

And that still leaves folks like James Wang, Nolan Thompson, Taylor Barrise, Pat Sullivan, Bryan Hurley, Jake Wolfin, Taylor Epley, Ryan O'Connell.....so many good players in the league this year.

My defensive player of the year: Nolan Thompson. My freshman of the year: Toss-up between Ben Ferris and CJ Moss.

Another astounding fact: Aaron Toomey, Joey Kizell, and Michael Mayer are all sophomores. So is Taylor Epley. And Matt Vadas. And Kwame Firempong. And....I could go on and on.

Collegiate basketball at its best.

[amh63]

As usual enjoyed reading the post of the games seen this weekend....and Walzy's posts about crazy people....becoming a new art form OR   literature branch. 
Didn't get a chance to post about my impressions of the actual game with Midd.  Went by the gym today to use a college computer and after reading what was posted, I was awed and pensive.  Actually needed to catch my plane out of Bradley.  Used the flight down to think about what I could add about the games....terrific games...exciting close games....well played games by players that played well and with passion.  Glad to be there and see them LIVE.
What made the weekend even better was sharing the events with OLD friends who also came into town....and meeting the families of the players(both sides) on senior day, etc.  Speaking of people...I want to give a shout out to the Midd. folks who greeted me warmly after their team and sons had lost an important game in OT.  I know the Williams people would not be so gracious...said with a smile.
Thus, I wish to add my impressions, provide some comments and add something new....from a "people" view of the game.
First, a highlight was meeting OLD Guy!  I knew he had a beard and was possibly a misguided Viking...but he turned out to be a rational 'warm person.....a little like "Santa" in better condition.  I was approaching anyone in the Midd. crowd area with a beard and even met a bearded Amherst hockey alumni in town.  Thanks Walzy for making the introduction.  Sad part of the day was missing Bucket and family.  Maybe later in Salem Va.
Anyway..some BB related comments.  With 2.2 seconds to go, Amherst had the ball with the score tied. Amherst was going to try for a buzzer beater and make the D3hoops news and maybe even win the game.  The ball was given to Willy Workman (my favorite player) and Willy throws a two handed shot from behind the mid-court line and hits iron.  Even Wang's last second shot from deep in Friday's game (yes, again) did not hit iron.  In the time before the start of OT, I went up to Willy's father and stated that it was close, his son made a nice try.  To paraphrase, Williys father's comment...I do not understand why it did not go in...yes a comment from a BB father.
I was concerned about Willy near the end of the game.  Both he and Toomey took falls during the game with Aaron coming up limping.
Workman was taking out of game soon after, I believe, and stayed on the bench for awhile.  Thank goodness, Williamson and Kalema were stepping up their play.  As the game became a barn burner, I looked for Workman to get back in.  He was sitting on the bench, being talked to by the Head Trainer behind him....I was worried and even noticed a knee pad on his left knee...Willy doesn't wear knee pads.  Workman has played the most minutes/game this season...yet his time was reduced in the Midd. game.  As Old Guy remarked in his recap of the game...."Fatigued" players.  I digress a little here.....Willy plays with passion and intensity.  In the Williams game on Friday, his intensity was seen in his face and play.  After a tap in shot over several players reaching for the ball, Willie turned and his facial expression and posture was like he had made a winning touchdown or a critical sack.  In short, the first part of the Midd. game and the Williams game had sapped Willy's energy. Intense back to back games are hard on players.
When Toomey took his shot in the last 3 seconds and he missed....and big Peter Kaasila made his put back, Peter made a facial expression as he turned around....much like the one I mentioned earlier for Willy. Peter doesn't often show that kind of emotion.  It reflected the game's intensity.
After the game, I spoke to Toomey's father about his son's missed shot...in a kind way, I hope.  A knowing father who has watched his sons play BB for years and can read them...simply stated that Aaron was pooped out at that stage.....Fatigued players.
This weekend games...these back to back games of close games....great games to watch....but wearing for the players.  I must admit it was wearing on me.
How did I  get through Sat.'s game?  I got help from Old Guy!  I knew that Old Guy will pace and walk away from watching the game when he is worried.  I would at times look for Old Guy.  When I saw his back to the game, I got hope that Amherst would win out.
Still....he was more often like a Sphinx near the end of the game.

[met_fan]

Looks like Lin's big brother was at the game in Clinton today.  Hamilton could use him against Amherst on Saturday.

http://www.wktv.com/sports/Knicks-star-Lin-watches-brothers-team-139194514.html?m=y&smobile=y

[nescac1]

Kudos to Walzy for earning a shout-out from the D3hoops Facebook page: Walzy31's annual All-NESCAC All-Crazy team is out! If you are not familiar with our forum, it's a tradition and well worth the read. Check it out!

Subject to change after the conference tourney, but I think my all-NESCAC team will look something like this:

First Team:

Sharry, Hanley, Sullivan, Toomey, Kizell

Second Team:

Mayer, Callaghan, Workman, Sha Brown (just missed first team but Kizell and Toomey were both awesome this year, although in a three-guard line-up I'd bump Sullivan and put him in), Matt Vadas

Also considered: Squires, Brust (Bates), Anderson, Orchowski (Tufts), O'Connell (Bowdoin).

POY: Sharry (although if this was an MVP award I'd say Toomey given how much he means to Amherst, no team would suffer more from the loss of any one player)
DPOY: N. Thompson (Workman, Orchowski, and Robertson also deserve consideration)
ROY: Ben Ferris (easy pick)

COY: Hixon, although Sheldon at Tufts deserves some consideration too, given the rapid improvement from a program that seemed all-but-dead two years ago.

Guy you want with the ball in his hands with five seconds left: Toomey, followed by Kizell
Most improved player: Mike Mayer, Squires also gets consideration here

[Bucket]

First Team:

Sharry, Hanley, Sullivan, Toomey, Kizell

Ok, I'd like to amend my All Conference selection. I didn't want to be seen as too much of a homer by choosing Kizell, but since nescac1 also sees things this way, I'd like to swap out Squires for Kizell.

[formerbant10]

BLOCKED SHOTS
## Player-Team               Cl  G Blocks  Avg/G
------------------------------------------------
1.Ryan Sharry-MID.......... SR 19     36   1.89
2.Will Hanley-BOW.......... SR 24     34   1.42
3.Eric Beaulieu-COL........ SR 23     28   1.22
4.Ken Click-HAM............ JR 23     26   1.13
5.Willy Workman-AMH........ JR 24     27   1.13

DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS
## Player-Team               Cl  G  No.  Avg/G
----------------------------------------------
1.Will Hanley-BOW.......... SR 24  203   8.46
2.Ryan Sharry-MID.......... SR 19  138   7.26
3.John Squires-BAT......... SR 22  127   5.77
4.Alex Orchowski-TUF....... SR 23  123   5.35
5.Matt Vadas-CONN.......... SO 24  123   5.13
6.Kyle Donovan-COL......... SR 23  115   5.00
7.Willy Workman-AMH........ JR 24  117   4.88

STEALS
## Player-Team               Cl  G Steals  Avg/G
------------------------------------------------
1.Aaron Toomey-AMH......... SO 23     44   1.91
2.Willy Workman-AMH........ JR 24     45   1.88

MINUTES PLAYED
## Player-Team               Cl  G Minutes  Avg/G
-------------------------------------------------
1.Rob Harrigan-CONN........ JR 24     845  35.21
2.Will Hanley-BOW.......... SR 24     814  33.92
3.Mark Brust-BAT........... JR 22     705  32.05
4.Willy Workman-AMH........ JR 24     761  31.71


I like my defensive players to be on the floor as much as possible and get a lot of stops. 

[amh63]

In this period before the games this Sat.....although Tufts is playing Clark today.........I need to put down more thoughts of the weekends as seen through my personal "lens".  After seeing Amherst students rush the floor twice....do not ever recall this was done....maybe Walzy should think about an All-Crazy crowd.....better not..it might incite an unnecessary one with this generation students.
First...There are short videos of the weekend games...the one of the Williams game shows another last second shot by Wang.  Didn't someone from Midd state that Wang was going to make one?  There is going to be one of the Midd. game coming....but a teaser is provided now (The Toomey-Williamson dunk is featured).  There is however a large number of photos of the Midd. game. It was senior day and many cameras were going.  Looking through the photos recalled some experiences and led to this post.  The faces of the crowd, players on the bench and floor captured the intensity of game clearly and forever...so to speak.  The Midd. fans may enjoy seeing how hard their players/sons played again.
Before I forget...and I do forget much....I do enjoyed seeing Sharry play...an All-American player play.  A Lady next to me shook her head after another Sharry made shot or was it a rebound.  I sadly pointed out that the Midd. player was going to be the next player of the year in the conference.  I was so glad to see Kizel foul out of the game.
Coaches...As I walked out of the gym on Sunday, Coach Hixon was getting out of his Jeep. He stopped to ask if I enjoyed the two games/outcomes this weekend.  No clever retort  from me....his son was with him, I believe.   Got to meet the wife of Coach Brown...thanks to a Midd. fan. The photos does show Coach Hixon on the bench biting his nails a bit....there is my retort Coach.
Did see a not too happy Coach Brown early in the first half after Amherst was making shot after shot and building up a lead...where was the Midd.'s defense?, I thought.  A time out was called and Coach Brown appeared to be chewing out his players from where I was sitting. 
If you were asking me what defense Midd. was playing, I could not tell you.  I was watching Coach Hixon make moves to slow down Sharry.  At least 3-4 different players were put on Sharry.  After the game, I talked to Williamson.  Thanked him for his good game and asked him how hard it was to guard Sharry.  He basically stated it was tough.  Williamson played center in HS and has the strength and  quickness to body up with Sharry for a time.
The photos show much of the game and the people.  There is Amherst's president questioning a ref in her quiet gesture of open arms.  I believe it was after the ref called a goal tending call on Amherst and gave Midd. the points on an otherwise missed shot late in the game.  I remember watching the Midd. crowd responding to the refs....in a two handed twirling gesture....together almost in unison as if they were in a show.  The Amherst side was more verbal around me...teaching the refs math....that three steps means a walk on a player.
I close here on an interview with Coach Brown I read somewhere.  Coach Brown stated that the NESCAC was like the ACC in overall BB caliber. He talked about Williams and Amherst being like Duke and NCarolina.....that he hoped to have Midd. become a Duke or NC in the ACC, to replace or join Williams and Amherst.  Midd.'s program is there now.
There was a featured game between UNC and Duke last week.  Duke was at the Dean Dome.  UNC dominated early and led by 9 with only a few minutes to go......Duke won with a last second shot from 3-point range.  This weekend, the visiting team did NOT win by a last second shot.