MBB: NESCAC

[trixiep]

grabtherim:  In your last sentence, flip the "does" and "he", and I think you have your answer.

[amh63]

Trixiep....I really hope your point wrt COY is wrong.  If it is then my regard for the coaches in the conference is lowered...strange in that there is a newer generation of coaches now.    My other favorite BB league is the ACC.  Recently there has been a major infusion of newer coaches....but in general the coaches have been of high caliber overall.   In the past when there were long standing coaches at many of the ACC schools, Dean Smith tended to "rub the other coaches the wrong way".  He seemed to attract the best/most talent, tended to win the most games each season. etc. and was the longest serving coach in the conference.  Even coaches like the great Duke coach, Coach K was said to have a dislike for Coach Smith....during the season.  Many rumors and much truths for, IMO, petty behavior for grown up good to great coaches....even my favorite one being Lefty Driscell of Maryland.

[nescac1]

Great article on Hixon.  I do, as an Eph fan, feel compelled to mention a few omitted stats, however:

Record vs. Williams (unofficially, but I think it's about right)
39-45

Record vs. Williams in NESCAC championship games
0-3 (to be fair, 3-3 overall in NESCAC tourney play)

Record vs. Williams in NCAA games (including one Final Four and two Elite Eights)
0-4

[amh63]

Nice nescac1!   I was at the Final 4 loss.  Amherst's center was hurt in the first half, I believe, and played a bit on one leg in the second half.  I also remember the conference championship game...2007? when Amherst went up by at least 20 points in the first half only to lose the game.  The coach at Williams was captain of his Williams team when Coach Hixon was captain of his Amherst team.  They were rival coaches for a LONG time.  I'm sure Coach Hixon voted for the Williams coach when it was deserved for COY.  The early years of Hixon as a coach, Williams had generally more talent...though there were great individual players at Amherst on those teams.

[nescac1]

Yeah, Hixon has outlasted a lot of Williams coaches (who have gone on to pretty great things, Sheehy, who you speak of and from what I've heard was maybe the best Williams player ever, is now AD at Dartmouth, Paulsen just led Bucknell to its second straight Patriot League regular season title, and I wouldn't be shocked if Maker -- assuming the Ephs turn things around from this season, which I expect -- moves up the coaching ladder as well).  Hixon of course could have gone D-1, so kudos to him for sticking with D-3.  Any while I have no inside knowledge whatsoever, I'd be pretty surprised if Coach Maker didn't vote for Hixon for COY this season, although really, who knows.  One thing is for sure: with Hixon, Brown, Maker, Reilly, Sheldon, Cosgrove (who will do big things at Trinity I predict, once the current front matur), etc., NESCAC is now insanely deep in top-tier coaching talent, many of whom could be effective D-1 head coaches now or in the future. 

[ac08]

No, they can't, because that requires four games on Friday. The only reason Amherst is able to host both this weekend is because the men's hosting is just one game total.

Forgive me if someone has already addressed this issue, but why can't one school host 4 games on a Friday? Games would have to be started too early on a school day? Are the rules posted anywhere publicly?

Well, the handbook says a school can't host two four-team pods/sectionals at the same time. Besides four game times to consider, there are extra locker rooms, practice and shootaround time. And why would the women play at 1 and 3 on a weekday? That would be even worse than usual for fans.

I think game-day considerations might be manageable in LeFrak. Double-NESCAC hosting seems to do well enough. As for game times, I'd have the home teams play last (as opposed to both women's games then men's). Coin toss for the right to choose the order for home teams. Maybe a free throw shooting contest? That sounds fair.

Practice on the night before would be more tricky from a travel/missing class perspective, but seems feasible.

[Pat Coleman]

The NESCAC tournament is on Saturday and Sunday, however. To do that in the NCAA's means someone is playing at 1 p.m. on Friday. I don't think anyone really thinks that's the right way to go.

[NEhoops]

This seasons all-conference teams have the fewest seniors (4). This is the lowest total from that class in the history of the conference (it also happened in 05-06 and 02-03). This is the second time in league history that Williams has not been represented on the one of the two teams (07-08 being the other).

Total all-conference selections by school since the 2000-01 season (includes first and second team).

Amherst: 22
Williams: 16
Bates: 16
Trinity: 14
Tufts/Colby: 11
Bowdoin: 10
Middlebury: 9
Wesleyan: 8
Conn: 4
Hamilton: 1 (2011-12 was their first NESCAC season)

[Middfan]

As a long time reader of but never a contributor to this message board I have often felt like a free loader at a great pot luck dinner.  I have been happy to defer to better basketball minds than mine as I heard my father's words of wisdom saying, "never pass up the chance to say nothing when nothing is best".  Still, in this case I want to add one ancillary tidbit.

As a long time Midd Fan I have seen most all of their home games and many away games over the last decade, including the two at Amherst this year.  My focus in this post is to say how impressed I am with the Toomey/Kizel match up.  Starting from such a high level as freshman they have matured and lead their teams as only exceptional point guards can do. The fact that we'll get to see them vs. each other for two more years makes it that much more special. 

In last Sunday's Amherst/Middlebury game one fleeting exchange spoke volumes about them as people.  If memory serves, Toomey was bringing the ball up court after a Middlebury score as the Panthers were clawing their way back into the game.  He picked up his dribble just as he crossed midcourt and Kizel darts in to tie up the ball.  As with any jump ball, especially at a moment like that, there ensued a frantic twisting battle for control.  Often these moments end with elbows and pushing and that's what looked like would occur in this case.  To his credit, Toomey quickly released the ball and slipped an arm around Kizel who immediately returned the gesture of respect and sportsmanship.  A potentially tough moment turned into the best we could ask for.

That they both made the NESCAC first team is tremendous.  I really hope they see each other on the court in Salem.

[trixiep]

Trixiep....I really hope your point wrt COY is wrong.  If it is then my regard for the coaches in the conference is lowered...strange in that there is a newer generation of coaches now.    My other favorite BB league is the ACC.  Recently there has been a major infusion of newer coaches....but in general the coaches have been of high caliber overall.   In the past when there were long standing coaches at many of the ACC schools, Dean Smith tended to "rub the other coaches the wrong way".  He seemed to attract the best/most talent, tended to win the most games each season. etc. and was the longest serving coach in the conference.  Even coaches like the great Duke coach, Coach K was said to have a dislike for Coach Smith....during the season.  Many rumors and much truths for, IMO, petty behavior for grown up good to great coaches....even my favorite one being Lefty Driscell of Maryland.

I find it completely unimportant if a coach is well liked by his peers.  His/Her job is to teach the game, reward great effort and leadership, create an atmosphere of accountability and unselfishness, do it all with integrity and respect, and hope the student/athletes learn some lessons for life during their four year journey on the team.  I presume coach Hixon has been doing this his entire career.  College athletics taught me more about life and what it takes to be successful than any classroom experience or professor.  In the end, post season individual awards are relatively unimportant.  Everyone playing this weekend would enthusiastically trade wins for awards.   

[Mr. Ypsi]

Trixiep....I really hope your point wrt COY is wrong.  If it is then my regard for the coaches in the conference is lowered...strange in that there is a newer generation of coaches now.    My other favorite BB league is the ACC.  Recently there has been a major infusion of newer coaches....but in general the coaches have been of high caliber overall.   In the past when there were long standing coaches at many of the ACC schools, Dean Smith tended to "rub the other coaches the wrong way".  He seemed to attract the best/most talent, tended to win the most games each season. etc. and was the longest serving coach in the conference.  Even coaches like the great Duke coach, Coach K was said to have a dislike for Coach Smith....during the season.  Many rumors and much truths for, IMO, petty behavior for grown up good to great coaches....even my favorite one being Lefty Driscell of Maryland.

I find it completely unimportant if a coach is well liked by his peers.  His/Her job is to teach the game, reward great effort and leadership, create an atmosphere of accountability and unselfishness, do it all with integrity and respect, and hope the student/athletes learn some lessons for life during their four year journey on the team.  I presume coach Hixon has been doing this his entire career.  College athletics taught me more about life and what it takes to be successful than any classroom experience or professor.  In the end, post season individual awards are relatively unimportant.  Everyone playing this weekend would enthusiastically trade wins for awards.

Excellent post (assuming of course that a coach is not disliked due to unethical recruiting against his peers, and I know of no such allegations against coach Hixon).  +k

Your final sentence is no doubt even more true for those NOT playing this weekend!

[nescac1]

MiddFan, great first post, and NEHoops, interesting compilation, plus one to both of you. 

Interesting that Bates has so many players listed, but no NESCAC titles or NCAA appearances to show for it.  Bates has definitely had some great talent over the years, including Zak Ray, Rob Stockwell, Brian Ellis, etc., ust never had quite enough depth to get over the hump.  Midd's low number is a reminder of just how recent their ascent was ... pretty amazing how quickly they flipped from a NESCAC also-ran into a perennial national power.  Given the size and athleticism they have been stockpiling the last few years, even with Sharry leaving, I don't foresee any substantial drop-off anytime soon. 

[Old Guy]

Midd's low number is a reminder of just how recent their ascent was ... pretty amazing how quickly they flipped from a NESCAC also-ran into a perennial national power.
nescac1

The seeds for Middlebury's turnaround were in '06 when the Panthers went 12-12. The year before the Panthers were 6-16 with a mostly senior team. Then Ben Rudin showed up and started as a freshman; his high school teammate, Kyle Dudley joined him. Mike Walsh, Andrew Harris, Aaron Smith followed and brought outstanding leadership, strong character, and commitment. Tim Edwards brought toughness and defensive prowess. Andrew Locke came in and played 8 minutes a game as a frosh and led the conference with 56 blocked shots. Sharry arrived with a nice game and a ton of potential. Rudin graduated and the backcourt was replenished with Wolfin and Thompson (a virtual walk-on) who started as frosh. Jamal Davis, Ryan Wholey: for years I would tell whomever was listening how important character and leadership were to winning in sports. After experiencing Middlebury men's hoops in the last five years, I actually believe it. The dynamic now is powerful - the young guys emulate the old guys on the team who are such positive models on and off the court.

We have been to the NCAAs for the past five years, been in the NESCAC final four consecutive years. Our record in the conference in these four years is 43-6. All six losses have been to Williams and Amherst, three each, yet our record against the Ephs and Jeffs in four years is 4-3. Perfect against the rest of the conference. This record is unimaginable for old Midd hoopers like me, and, trust me, we have enjoyed every minute. We take nothing for granted and are grateful.

For five years at least, we have challenged the Williams-Amherst hegemony, as Trinity and CT College did before us. Who's next - Wesleyan? Then Bates, Hamilton?

[OchoLoko41]

Midd's low number is a reminder of just how recent their ascent was ... pretty amazing how quickly they flipped from a NESCAC also-ran into a perennial national power.
nescac1

The seeds for Middlebury's turnaround were in '06 when the Panthers went 12-12. The year before the Panthers were 6-16 with a mostly senior team. Then Ben Rudin showed up and started as a freshman; his high school teammate, Kyle Dudley joined him. Mike Walsh, Andrew Harris, Aaron Smith followed and brought outstanding leadership, strong character, and commitment. Tim Edwards brought toughness and defensive prowess. Andrew Locke came in and played 8 minutes a game as a frosh and led the conference with 56 blocked shots. Sharry arrived with a nice game and a ton of potential. Rudin graduated and the backcourt was replenished with Wolfin and Thompson (a virtual walk-on) who started as frosh. Jamal Davis, Ryan Wholey: for years I would tell whomever was listening how important character and leadership were to winning in sports. After experiencing Middlebury men's hoops in the last five years, I actually believe it. The dynamic now is powerful - the young guys emulate the old guys on the team who are such positive models on and off the court.

We have been to the NCAAs for the past five years, been in the NESCAC final four consecutive years. Our record in the conference in these four years is 43-6. All six losses have been to Williams and Amherst, three each, yet our record against the Ephs and Jeffs in four years is 4-3. Perfect against the rest of the conference. This record is unimaginable for old Midd hoopers like me, and, trust me, we have enjoyed every minute. We take nothing for granted and are grateful.

For five years at least, we have challenged the Williams-Amherst hegemony, as Trinity and CT College did before us. Who's next - Wesleyan? Then Bates, Hamilton?

Middlebury's certainly had a fantastic run over the past few years and may have become a member of the hegemony, only time will tell.  Seeing Locke's frosh stats again reminded me how incredible his career was (leading the conference in blocks in only 8 minutes a game WOW).

As for the up and comers I think Wesleyan and Tufts clearly lead the pack, but with the level of play across the league the next breakout team could really come from anywhere

[walzy31]

Not from Waterville anytime soon