MBB: NESCAC

[formerbant10]

Hoops Fan....You raised a good point about body control, court sense, and on floor smarts about D1 players on good teams.
However, after watching NCAA games and even NIT teams....I even wonder if D1 tournament players have that much over top D3 players.

They don't, because most top d3 players are of similar caliber.  That was my point.  Obviously the best in d1 are much better than the best in d3 - but I don't see why any of the guys in the all-star game couldn't be contributors on a d1 team with a winning record.

They do...it's generally speed, athleticism, size and skill that they have over D3 players.  Yes, there are exceptions to the rule...but not as many as we (current and former d3 players) would like to think.

The only way Anthony Davis doesn't average more than 25 ppg is if he only plays 12 minutes or less each game.

I'm hoping that the Naismith Player of the Year would be the leading scorer in D3.  Considering this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMx4pDtL1uA averaged 22.4 and 16.3, I'd say so.  Matter of fact, I'd say that this guy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aGOQ8arBkc would average more than 25 and 16 as well

[amh63]

Amherst has picked up another player.....forward Connor Green from Phillips Exeter.  As reported in NERR dated 4 April, the 6'5" player commited to Amherst.  Connor was the Gatorade Player of the Year at Bishop Guertin HS in New Hampshire in 2010-2011 and played well for Exeter in his post-graduate year.  Of interest to me is that his commitment came during the regular admission period vice early admission period.  To survive the bigger pool, his talents and academic records must be quite solid.....since Amherst took only 12% of its applicants this year.  Green is a slasher and has a good outside shot...a possible replacement for the graduating Waller. 

[nescac1]

One bit of Williams recruiting news.  Darrias Sime, a joint football / hoops recruit (and yet another Eph from the Pacific Northwest), will be attending Williams.  Not sure which his primary sport is, and he is coming off a torn ACL according to this, but he looks pretty athletic:

http://www.proctoracademy.org/podium/default.aspx?t=204&bl=javascript:history.go%28-1%29;&nid=619497&sdb=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgFKPQqbDIo&feature=relmfu

[frank uible]

Proctor Academy's ostensibly over-heated press release about Sime's matriculation at Williams claims that he will have "immediate impact" on the Williams football team. As a general proposition, frosh seldom meet this aspiration (to the point of rarely becoming a starter much less an impact player as your correspondent might define an impact player).

[nescac1]

True Frank.  It is extremely rare for WRs, in particular, to make an immediate impact at any level.  For a RB, for example, if you have a ton of talent, you can play and contribute as a frosh (see Drew at Wesleyan).  But WR requires a lot more nuance in terms of learning a particular system and learning how to play beyond sheer talent.  Even Darren Hartwell, who is one of the top three if not the best WR I've seen play at Williams, did not make an impact as a frosh.  And besides Hartwell, Williams has some other pretty talented receivers returning as well (Payton, Beaton, Keisel), who have been waiting for a chance to contribute more after waiting their turn behind veterans.  But now we are off the topic of hoops entirely ...

[nescac1]

Not a hoops-related story, but an elite athlete (of the all-crazy variety) at Bowdoin:

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/04/23/news/midcoast/bowdoin-college-student-breaks-guinness-record-by-tossing-grape-39-feet-in-air-catching-it-in-his-mouth/

[Old Guy]

You would enjoy watching Middlebury hooper, 6'5" frosh Dylan Sinnickson, patrol centerfield for the Panther baseball team. He can really go get it in the outfield and is the fastest player on the team getting out of the box and down the line to first (he's batting .300). Another 6'5" frosh basketball player, Hunter Merriman, is dh-ing (.321). If a hoop game breaks out on the diamond, put your money on the Panthers.

(Panthers took two of three against previously undefeated (in NESCAC) Amherst, a first, and did the same against Williams earlier, but got swept by Wesleyan and lost two against Hamilton (!), so will miss the NESCAC dance, alas.)

[Old Guy]

Other NESCAC basketball players playing a spring sport?

[toad22]

Kyle Koncz, assistant coach at Williams, has been hired at Fairfield as the Director of Basketball Operations. This is great news for Kyle, who I believe will become a very fine college coach. He played for Sydney Johnson at Princeton, so the transition should be fairly easy. I believe that this is Mike Maker's fifth assistant to get a D1 job. That is quite a record. 

[grabtherim]

Word around the campfire is that Mark Macon has just been fired at Binghamton.  If they are smart, they will interview Maker.  He had interviewed for a few D1 jobs after the 2011 season.  This would be a good fit for his first D1 job in a program which needs some integrity after the last few seasons they have endured. 

[Pat Coleman]

I would hope a top D-I coach could do better than Binghamton, but D-I head coaching jobs are hard to come by.

[nescac1]

In case folks missed it, from the front page:

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2012/05/mens-championship-game-takes-big-stage

Hopefully a NESCAC team can make it to the game next year, Midd and Amherst will certainly be back in contention, although both sustain significant losses, Williams should return to form with a bit better luck on the injury front, and Wesleyan is on the rise and a potential contender as well!  Next year should be wide open in D-3, considering that almost all of the top teams lose one or more star players to graduation (including the entire Final Four).  Now this provides even a tiny bit more motivation for someone to emerge from the pack and seize the the opportunity. 

[grabtherim]

D2 and D3 Championship Games in Atlanta Same weekend as D1 Final Four. Qtrs and Semis still in Salem.

http://d3hoops.com/notables/2012/05/mens-championship-game-takes-big-stage

[madzillagd]

Is it November yet?  I'm ready for some Eph basketball. 

I'll out myself right from the start.... my nephew is heading to Williams next year so I may be annoying you all for the next 4 years, we'll see how this goes.  I'm a Cal Lutheran grad myself so I've been using d3hoops etc. for years but had no idea these message boards were even out here. 

I was looking through some older posts while I was waiting for board approval and I see that nescac1 posted a few things on Luke already.  If you are interested, here's an old highlight reel I put together from his jr. season.  http://youtu.be/ckGOQ1dPjXw   Seems like a long time ago looking at that now.   Haven't got all the games together for his senior year so not sure if I'll put together an updated one or not. 

If you have any questions throw them at me and I'll try to be as objective as possible. 

[frank uible]

How did undeniably dinky (as Paul Brown used to correctly call it) Williams College come to the attention of your nephew located 3000 miles away in Idaho? He has a good chance of being the lone Idahoan in Williams' Class of 2016.