MBB: NESCAC

[Pat Coleman]

Suggested places to eat near Bowdoin?

[amh63]

Have some time before heading up to Amherst tonight.  Finally returning to the subject of how the "CAC" coaches missed on the senior guard of the U. of Rochester...to be called here, "Big D" since I'm never good at spelling.
Thanks to the input from the new poster with the ConnFan handle!  Will just give my take...a little bit joking even.
First, will take the element of academics out of the discussion since, IMO, the UAA schools have at the least the same academic standards as the NESCAC schools overall.
Big D comes from a HS that has sent a steady stream of students that have make contributions to sport teams in the conference...in particular at Amherst.  So the school is not a new talent site.
If Big D was an early decision applicant at Rochester....that could be one reason.  The present Rochester coach could have spotted him and locked him up early
I believe the primary cause is that many of the conference schools were having turnovers in the HC positions at the time when Big D was "emerging" as a player in HS....a slight kid and a late bloomer that has continued to bloom at the right school and with the right coach. 
Trinity, Wes.. Colby, and even Williams were or just hired new coaches.  The Williams coach had, until recently, this eyes in the Mid to Far West areas. 
At Amherst. it was a year that brought in Kaasila, Workman, Williamson and other players not on the team now.  I believe that Spencer Noon, the record breaking soccer star at Amherst, had better HS BB stats in CT than Big D.  Look at the players at the present top tier teams in the conf.  Nate Robertson at Williams, the terrific senior guards at Midd, S. Brown for the Cardinals, etc. Great contributing players.   Overlooked?....yes....to the extent it was at a time of change in the conference and at a time when many top guards were being recruited into the conference.  Finally, Big D, was a late bloomer, IMO.  He picked his school and it has proved he made the right choice.  His success may not have been as great at the "CAC" schools.

[WPI89]

Amh63 - thanks for taking care of me.  Yes engineer but only by degree......got into the business world early because I wasn't smart enough to be an engineer.

Pat - I am sure some Mainers will come tot he rescue on your restaurant.  The only place I have ever eaten in Brunswick is Byrnes - better than average pub grub - good atmosphere.

[fanfromct]

Spencer Noon was an all-state basketball player for both junior and senior years. John D. was not.
http://www.cthssports.com/allstate.php?sport_id=12&year=2009
Rochester also recruited a center from the New Canaan team that same year who left the team as a freshman when he got a total of five minutes for the year on their 18 man roster. John D started all the games and played 31 mpg that year with the team going 15-10.
He certainly has developed as a great player. I agree - he could have gotten much less time at a Nescac school that year.

As for Brunswick restaurants, Byrnes, Joshuas, and the Sea Dog are all good pub food, The Inn at Brunswick Station, Henry and Marty, and #10 Water (at the Captain Daniel Stone Inn) are all very good.

[TheHerst2and4]

Willy Workman, F
Tim Edwards, G
Jim Frew, G
Aaron Westbrooks, F (notable omission from our discussion, two time DPOY I believe, nasty, physical defender)

Maybe a SLIGHT Williams bias in those groupings ... McLaughlin, Salerno, Cohen, Ray, Davis, Keith Zalaski, or Mizan Ayers could all slide in to the second team without any objection from me.

I couldn't carry Jim Frew's gym bag; big fan.

[lumbercat]

Thanks for the lines Walzy-

Bates under
Colby under
Conn  over
Bowdoin over
Trinity over

[P'bearfan]

Suggested places to eat near Bowdoin?

Sea Dog Brewing Company is just across the Main Street bridge.  Good brew pub food in a converted mill.  Nice atmosphere.  5 min from campus.  Enjoy!

[JustAFan]

Pat Coleman, if the local restaurants dont' catch your fancy you won't go wrong with dinner in the downstairs pub at the Harraseekett Inn, a 10 minute drive south of Bowdoin in Freeport. 

To the Herst, your deference to Jim Frew is admirable but both of you are among the toughest defenders I've ever seen, and will always be favorites of mine.  I had the pleasure of watching both of you quite a bit in high school as well as college and you are both a credit to your high school coach Foley.  To this day Jim Frew remains the guy I would want running my team in a big game--he always elevated everyone's level of play and led by example with tremendous savvy and a warrior's passion and toughness.

[Old Guy]

Pat: The Sea Dog is fun. Also, consider Scarlet Begonia's, right in the middle of town (next to the Hannaford's Grocery Store).

DON'T GO TO FREEPORT. The Harreseekett is way overpriced and Freeport's a mess (Thanks, L.L.). My 97 year old mother ("Old Girl") is in an assisted living facility in Brunswick so I go there every 3-4 weeks.

I will be missing tonight's Panther-Polar Bear tilt, however, because the Middlebury High Tigers, 11-2, have a game with the Vergennes High Commodores, 15-0. Vergennes is the next town up Route 7, 12 miles away. "Young Guy" plays for the Tigers. Could be an epic, a barnburner.

But I'll be at Colby tomorrow - and probably watching the SuperBowl with my mom on Sunday (missing some nice SB parties in Midd). Oh well, first things first, right?

[walzy31]

Toomey with 17 at the half (5-7 (3-5), 4-4). Amherst trails Bates by 1 after falling behind by as many as 11 in the first half.

[lefrakenstein]

Toomey with 17 at the half (5-7 (3-5), 4-4). Amherst trails Bates by 1 after falling behind by as many as 11 in the first half.

Amherst blows it open in a three minute stretch in the second half and wins by 17. Workman, Green and Kaasila led the charge. Workman scored his 1000th career point.

Bates was hustling and shooting their way through the first half. Eventually the size disadvantage caught up to them. Amherst out-rebounded them by 15. Also, the Jeffs put on the defense clamps in the second half, holding Bates to 33% shooting from the field after the Bobcats shot just under 50%, and over 50% from three, in the first half.

[pick and roll]

Looks like more guys still with the flu for Williams tonight.

[walzy31]

Friday February 1st NESCAC Spreads

Bates @ Amherst
Amherst -12.0
O/U: 143.0


Williams @ Colby
Williams -28.0
O/U: 150.5


Conn College @ Hamilton
Hamilton -9.5
O/U: 125.5


Middlebury @ Bowdoin
Middlebury -14.0
O/U: 136.5


Tufts @ Trinity
Tufts -16.5
O/U: 124.5

Bates 69 @ Amherst 86
Amherst -12.0 (Amherst Covers +5.0)
O/U: 143.0 (Over +12.0)


Williams 64 @ Colby 61
Williams -28.0 (Colby Covers +25.0)
O/U: 150.5 (Under +25.5)


Conn College 57 @ Hamilton 60
Hamilton -9.5 (Conn College Covers +6.5)
O/U: 125.5 (Under +8.5)


Middlebury 72 @ Bowdoin 61
Middlebury -14.0 (Bowdoin Covers +3.0)
O/U: 136.5 (Under +3.5)


Tufts 78 @ Trinity 57
Tufts -16.5 (Tufts Covers +4.5)
O/U: 124.5 (Over +10.5)

[lefrakenstein]

Also Aaron Toomey in 2013: 61% from the field; 61% from 3-range; 91% from the line.

Those are not typos.

[nescac1]

Looks like an ugly win for Williams.  But hey, it will go in the record books as a NESCAC road win nonetheless.  Still, obviously not the Ephs' best performance.  Williams often seems to struggle against less talented teams on the Maine trip, and losing this one would have been brutal. Maybe a let-down game after the big Midd win?  The Ephs will obviously have to play much better to beat Bowdoin tomorrow.  Very poor shooting for Williams: 25 percent from 3, 61 percent from the line.  Ephs got a good effort from Dan Wohl with 17 points on only 8 shot attempts.  Epley had 19-8, Mayer after a few dominating weeks had a fairly quiet game with 10-10-4 (only nine shot attempts).   The Ephs' starting backcourt really struggled, combining to shoot 3-14 from the field and 1-3 from the line.  As seniors, I'd expect them to bounce back and play better vs. Bowdoin.  The Ephs did at least get more contributions out of their bench than they have of late: a total of ten points, 3 boards, 3 assists, 3 steals and a block.  And boy did they need it.  Curious if anyone saw the game (it was not on video) for impressions of what Colby did to give the Ephs' offense so much trouble.