MBB: NESCAC

[madzillagd]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colby-College-Mens-Basketball/176002552474960
COLBY FROSH A DAY: DAY 5

Another new member of the Mules backcourt this season is 6'3" 195lbs. shooting guard Ryan Jann, who comes to Colby from Westford Academy in Massachusetts, where he led his team to an 18-5 senior season.

"Ryan has a really good combination of size, skill and athleticism. I think he will develop into one of our better shooters on the team," Strahorn said. "And he has the ability to score the ball from different spots on the floor. He can create different shots off the dribble and has a good feel to create space." He continued, "Defensively, I think he will help us early on and show an ability to rebound out of his position as well."

[CWM_42]

"My question is when did the "rich and famous" (Choate, Taft, Deerfield, Mt Hermon, etc) decide to go this route - and why?"

As to the when, it has been going on since at least the early 1980s.  Choate, Andover and Exeter each had at least a couple PGs on their basketball teams at that time. 

I completed a PG year at Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) in that timeframe and played on the basketball team.  Nine of the 13 players on that team were PGs and four ended up playing at Wesleyan, Hamilton, Conn College and Colby.  Of the other PGs, one ended up being All-Ivy at Columbia, another played at LeMoyne and another at Suffolk. At that time, NMH was an extreme case for the group of schools you mentioned. 

Deerfield had no PGs that year, or if they did, they chose poorly as we defeated them by 45 points in the first game of a home and home and the second game was cancelled (not postponed) due to a phantom snow storm that didn't leave a flake on the NMH campus, but somehow buried South Deerfield a mere 15 miles away.  I know Deerfield later took PGs for basketball because Gregg Frame completed a PG year before moving on to Dartmouth.

A few years prior to that Rick Boyages PG'd at NMH before taking over point guard duties at Bowdoin and a few years later Matt Hancock PG'd at Exeter before re-writing the record books at Colby.

As to the why for the player, I think it is probably a combination of factors, some of which have been mentioned: the time to mature physically and academically; the opportunity to compete at a higher level athletically and academically than they could at their hometown high school and the hope to play Division 1.  Speaking from my own experience, that one year can do a lot to clear "delusions of grandeur" out of an 18 year-old's head, bring clarity to the greater long-term benefits of attending a NESCAC school and getting playing time versus playing Division 2, or Division 1 at a low to mid-major at a less academically challenging school.

As to the why for the "rich and famous" prep schools, I suspect they likely got tired of playing the Cushings, MCIs and Bridgtons who had PGs and losing to them by wide margins.  At some point, one of the "rich and famous" prep schools started taking PGs just to be competitive with the PG factories and the others followed to a certain extent.  It may have been NMH that started this, but I do not know for sure. 

[jumpshot]

The "rich and famous" New England prep schools (all male at the time) to which you refer have had post-graduate athletes since the 1950's and 1960's when football, basketball, baseball, hockey, swimming, squash etc., were continuously outstanding teams at Deerfield, Andover, Exeter, and a few others. Numerous excellent student athletes from that era subsequently played in the Ivy League and at what are now NESCAC schools, as well occasionally at places as large and competitive as the University of Texas, North Carolina, etc. Those football teams routinely defeated freshman teams at Amherst and elsewhere in football, Yale and Harvard in swimming, went undefeated in baseball, packed rinks for hockey games versus college freshmen, etc. Generally, the post-graduates came from public schools in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, as well as the Midwest and South, and were a highly positive influence on these schools in lots of ways. Many are among the most loyal graduates of these schools to this day.

[amh63]

Interesting media announcement on a Harvard recruit,,,,,Harvard Steals One.  Harvard picks up a top prospect that a number of Div. 1 schools were chasing and it is expressed as stealing!  Twisted mindset by the media sometimes.  The player is a 6'7" power forward that could play the SF position.  One result of the recent LINsanity"?.....the NBA will find you when you produce on the floor and even when you plan to finish college.

[NEhoops]

The prep school dynamic has changed drastically over the years. From a NESCAC standpoint, the admissions offices want student athletes from Choate, Deerfield, etc. Coaches are realizing that if there are top level players at these schools then they should put their efforts into recruiting those players because it will be a benefit when admissions makes their decisions. On the other hand, the players are realizing that if might be able to get some NE-10 looks coming out of high school, but if they spend a year at Phillips Exeter they will improve their basketball abilities, but also get on the radar of some Ivy League school based on the prep schools academic reputation. Some of the top levels prep schools such as Bridgton and South Kent definitely have some impact players, but the overall academic curriculum is not very strong and is going to weaken their chances of getting into a NESCAC school regardless of their abilities.

It looks like MIT is the clear favorite in the region at this point in the season. I was wondering if their fifth year players are all enrolled in some type of graduate courses or are they just paying for a fifth year of undergrad. I know a handful of college athletes in the NESCAC whose careers were cut short by injuries and while they wanted to take an extra year and finish on their own terms it just didn't make sense financially to pay for another year.   

If Harvard outduels BCS type schools for a basketball recruit then I would consider that a steal. Interesting to see if they are able to maintain their recruiting success after the cheating scandal that allegedly involved some of the men's basketball players. I remember when Amaker first started there were rumblings throughout the league that they were getting players that weren't in the range academically.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Interesting media announcement on a Harvard recruit,,,,,Harvard Steals One.  Harvard picks up a top prospect that a number of Div. 1 schools were chasing and it is expressed as stealing!  Twisted mindset by the media sometimes.  The player is a 6'7" power forward that could play the SF position.  One result of the recent LINsanity"?.....the NBA will find you when you produce on the floor and even when you plan to finish college.

They've had a few top recruits in the past couple of years.  Lin helps, but Tommy Amaker is one heck of a recruiter.  Always has been.

[madzillagd]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colby-College-Mens-Basketball/176002552474960
FROSH A DAY: DAY 6

Also joining the Mules for the 2012-2013 season will be 6'3" 170 lbs. freshman Luke Westman. Luke attended Newton North High School in Massachusetts where he finished his senior season with 18-4 record. Surprisingly, he averaged an astounding 2.5 blocks per game, which makes sense if you take into account that Luke was the Boston Globe Volleyball Player of the Year last spring!

"Luke is another guy in this class that comes from a very strong program in high school," Coach Strahorn said. "He has great versatility and athleticism and can play any position on the perimeter." Strahorn continued, "He has the chance to be a really good defender with his length and athleticism. He's another guy that just seems to always be making plays that help you win."

[Old Guy]

Middlebury had a nice player named Matt Westman, also from Newton North, who graduated in '09. He was about the same size (6'3", 180), slender and athletic (he could dunk!). He was one of the first players off the bench on that outstanding team (24-4, Ben Rudin's senior year), played about 15 minutes a game, averaged 4 points, made a genuine contribution. Terrific student; impressive young man.

[madzillagd]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colby-College-Mens-Basketball/176002552474960?ref=stream
FINAL FROSH A DAY: DAY 7

Rounding out the freshmen class for this year's Mules squad is 6'2" 185 lbs. guard Michael Loginoff out of St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco, CA.

Coach Strahorn said, "Michael will add depth on the perimeter. He shoots the ball well from three, but the thing I like the most about him is the physical presence defensively that he brings on the wing." Strahorn continued, "Mike has a great competitiveness that he brings and he's played against very strong competition in high school."

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

As a prep school graduate - don't forget about the Sarum Knights of Salisbury ;-)

The Preseason Top 25 is out: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/men/2012-13/preseason

[madzillagd]

Here's a tweet from Tufts last night...

@TuftsBasketball - "Can't imagine any team with a tougher schedule. We play #1, 4, 5, 8, possibly 21, 23, and two receiving votes in the @d3hoops poll. #d3h"

Brings up an interesting question...  Which has more value for a team, a tough regular season schedule or a weak schedule that a good team can cruise through and are all but guaranteed a playoff birth? 

MIT doesn't play a single ranked opponent all year long (as of these rankings).  Last year they were able to make it all the way to Salem so a weaker schedule didn't really impact them it seems when it came to the tournament.  However, I have to say I still think I'd prefer a schedule that has some tests along the way.  Maybe not as difficult as Tufts has it this year (on paper at least), but having at least 2 or 3 games where you are playing playoff-caliber teams is a good measuring stick I think for players.   I would think it's more difficult to persuade a 19 year old to work harder every day in practice if they are winning all their games by 20 points.  However, the anxiety level of a MIT parent, coach, fan has to be far lower than one of a NESCAC school for sure and there's definitely value in that.   

[madzillagd]

Colby continues to push out more content for their basketball team.  Here's their exit interviews from last year's seniors...

http://youtu.be/jX6Oaqa42g0

[lumbercat]

Boy, the Mules are expending a great deal of effort in promoting their program and I have great respect for that kind of passion. I think Coach Strahorn is the force behind this and I congratulate him on his efforts. Thats the kind of coach thats kids will gravitate towards--- good for him.

His reputation as a zebra killer may be overstated, we will find out this year.

Good luck to the white mules who will come out in November clad in their traditional Hawaiian Blue and Grey and put a fine team on the hardwood as they have done for so many years---old man Whitmore may surface in the back row at some games but not sure what his profile will be going forward---if he sits in the Colby gym without hammering refs it will only be due to the fact that he has laryngytis----just kidding Mules fans. Good Luck.

[toad22]

I'm happy that Williams wasn't rated at all highly in the preseason polls. It will be fun to climb all year. Our league is really tough, but I believe that we will be at or near the top of NESCAC this year. I've been observing Williams closely since 1993-94, and I've rarely seen a more talented team. This should be fun.

[amh63]

Toad....agree that Williams will be in the conference mix.  Preseason picks are in part due to the record from past seasons.  Was surprised to see Wes. in the top 25.  Hard for me to predict when the rosters are not even listed and to see how the coaches build this year's TEAM.