MBB: NESCAC

[middhoops]

It's easy to under rate the quality of the bench players from the previous season.  Tufts will be both good and improved.  They have an enviable recruiting class.  Do not, however, underestimate the players who didn't get much playing time for the big three last season.  There is a ton of quality there.

[grabtherim]

I thought Tufts was going to be tough next season before they added him and the freshman they have coming in.  I have never seen Spadaford play, but you have to like the kids goals stated in the article: NESCAC Player of the Year and All American.  Not sure if he was hurt last year, but it appears he played 50 total minutes over 12 games.  I will be watching like everyone else to see if the Big 3 domination continues at the top of the league.   
 

[nescac1]

I imagine that Spadafora will be a helpful player for Tufts, and it's good to aim high, but playing 50 minutes total on one of the worst teams in Division I doesn't signal someone who is likely to contend for NESCAC player of the year anytime soon.  I'm sure that there are at least a dozen returning players in NESCAC who would have earned serious PT on last year's Navy team.  I'd be surprised if he ends up being even the best member of the rising Tufts sophomore class (although if he does, that will indeed make Tufts into a national contender within at most two years).   I think the two incoming big guys for Tufts (at least one of the two) are likely to have a bigger impact next season.  They look legit. 

[NEhoops]

I think Tufts has earned the right to be mentioned among the top four teams in the league, but I also agree that it is too soon to call them the favorite. Ferris, Palleschi, and Haladyna are a great trio, they have some strong role players, but they need to prove themselves for a whole year. Losing Anderson is not something to take lightly, he was arguably their best player and made them a tougher team. Spadaford has to be grouped in with the freshmen. Lets see what he/they can do at game time. Not many DI transfers had made an immediate impact in the NESCAC. I'm expecting to see some preseason conference power rankings and/or all conference teams sooner or later....   

[middhoops]

Yes, I DO realize it's to early to be hyping freshmen, but the Jumbo I want to see on the court is Sabety.  You can't fake video of a guy playing above the rim that much.  Guys who do that at D3 tend to have an impact.

Having said that, the NESCAC is a guard oriented conference.  (Ok, that was a pretty hollow platitude.  Watching Whittington and Locke dunk was just more fun.....).

[old_hooper]

A run for the money, yes.  The FAVORITE when compared to (1) the defending national champion returning the the national player of the year, and (2) two returning Elite 8 teams, both of which have consistently made deep tourney runs, and who will likely have three pre-season All-Americans between them?  Not even close.  Let's at least see this Tufts group make a NESCAC final or an NCAA appearance before annointing them the favorites over three battle-tested, veteran squads.  We also don't know yet how much of an impact the new players are going to make.  They are not going to surprise anyone next year, and they will have to play at Williams and Midd back-to-back. 

I do, however, think that Palleschi and Ferris are two of the top ten returning players in NESCAC, along with Toomey, Mayer, Epley, Kizell, Pieri, Hurley, Vadas, and Hart.  They will need Haldyana to make major strides as a go-to scorer and at least two of the newcomers to make big impacts to break into the big three. 

When we think of a couple of the D1 transfers to CAC schools, Spadafora sounds like he is a little bit like Robert Taylor from Trinity back in the 07-08 years and formerly from Boston U.  A very good player that made Trinity a better team.  I am not sure that he was a first team NESCAC player or not.  Also I don't think there was a player that was anticipated to do great things more than Adolph Coulibaly at Amherst.  His first year at Brown he made solid contributions but he never lived up to expectations of that anticipated talent at Amherst.  He had his opportunities but did not seem that he ever made the break through to secure a permanent starting position.  His junior year was cut short because of a family issue that may have impaired his development with a very talented team and eventual National Champs.  If Spadafora can make a contribution like Robert Taylor did for Trinity, that will make the Jumbos a better team.  I agree with NESCAC 1 that he will probably have to wait his turn at least a year or two to prove that he is conference player of the year material and AA.

[nescac1]

old_hooper, Robert Taylor wasn't a transfer ... I believe you are thinking of Patrick Martin, who was an all-NESCAC caliber transfer from Boston University to Trinity.  The best D1-to-NESCAC transfer that I can recall is also a Trinity guy, Colin Tabb, who was an all-American level player in D-3.  He was a substantial contributor at the higher level before he transferred. But generally speaking, few higher-level transfers have had major impacts at NESCAC schools.  The difference in talent, if any, between the top few teams in NESCAC and the bottom-feeding D1 teams is just not all that great, and guys who expect to dominate just because they are moving down a level are in for a rude awakening.  A recent example at Tufts is Alex Orchowski, who transferred after a few years at Lafayette.  Very solid player, but not what you'd call a star. 

Middhoops, Drew Madsen, the other incoming Tufts big guy, also looks very athletic (maybe even moreso than Sabety, although doesn't look nearly as big/strong).  Tufts could have its own version of lob city in a few years with those two. And while the Jumbos will definitely miss Anderson's skill and scoring at the four, those two plus Tommy Folliard (a solid stretch four type) give the Jumbos plenty of good options to try to replace him.   

I have a feeling there will be a pretty strong consensus on pre-season all-NESCAC squads this year, assuming guys stay healthy in pre-season.  Mayer, Toomey, Kizell and Epley are all-American caliber guys heading into their senior years, and Ferris might get there before he graduates.  That is as solid a top five as you'll find anywhere.  Pieri, Hurley, Boornazian, Wohl, Hart, Vadas, Palleschi, Green could all contend for that fifth spot, but overall, there is as clear a top tier of guys as I can recall.  Although perhaps the Midd hoops guys will make an argument for Jensen as pre-season POY due to his defensive versatility or some other newfangled advanced metric .  And that's another reason it will be hard to knock off the big three: all are led by extraordinarily strong groups of seniors.  In another year, however, Tufts may well become the clear pre-season favorite. 

[amh63]

Nescac1...I will now put you in the very early poster group of very few.   I put posters past midnight in the very late group....mainly dominated by Panther supporters.  In both groups the posts are well thought out and intriguing.
Where am I going with this post?   Don't know but unless I post about the America's Cup races, I have little to add until near the end of football season...after I see some early practices of the Amherst team, official or unofficial.
The big topic locally is that real recruiting of high school players is during the AAU tournies.  Players are evaluated more with AAU teams...though HS coaches are asked for comments still.  Div 1 coaches seem to be recruiting not for next season but for the class of 2019!  What are D3 coaches pushed to do?

[P'bearfan]

Yes, I DO realize it's to early to be hyping freshmen, but the Jumbo I want to see on the court is Sabety.  You can't fake video of a guy playing above the rim that much.  Guys who do that at D3 tend to have an impact.

Having said that, the NESCAC is a guard oriented conference.  (Ok, that was a pretty hollow platitude.  Watching Whittington and Locke dunk was just more fun.....).

Sabety is clearly a player with size, athelticism and some nice skills.  He'll probably have a good NESCAC career.  However, if you watch the video closely you realize that he's above the rim a lot because:  1)he's not exactly playing against D1 competition; 2) he's much bigger than everyone else on the court;  3)few players even tried to box him out.  These will be big differences that he'll need to adjust to next year.

[amh63]

SE..D3...fan.....good points.  Glad some people saw the video...since I did not.  It will be great to reevaluate such new players after the posters get to see them work out with the teams during preseason...and posts.  It can therefore be a sort of revaluation of sorts of Videos.
I recall my first look at Aaron Toomey during a practice session.  Actually he was sitting out stretching his legs.  I had heard rumors of some workouts at UMass.  I saw a thin looking player and never waited around to see him on the floor...chased off the floor by Coach Hixon.

[P'bearfan]

Nescac1...I will now put you in the very early poster group of very few.   I put posters past midnight in the very late group....mainly dominated by Panther supporters.  In both groups the posts are well thought out and intriguing.
Where am I going with this post?   Don't know but unless I post about the America's Cup races, I have little to add until near the end of football season...after I see some early practices of the Amherst team, official or unofficial.
The big topic locally is that real recruiting of high school players is during the AAU tournies.  Players are evaluated more with AAU teams...though HS coaches are asked for comments still.  Div 1 coaches seem to be recruiting not for next season but for the class of 2019!  What are D3 coaches pushed to do?

My own experience is that D3 coaches do talk with AAU and HS coaches but they often attend the camps at larger D1 schools - for instance there were D3 coaches from across the country at the Harvard camp last summer.  Only a few of the D3 coaches I spoke with were planning to attend the AAU national tournament in Orlando last year - it's too much time and money and not a high enough concentration of the types of players they're looking for.    I'm sure the D3 coaches do attend local / regional AAU tournaments but the D1 camps seem to be the really popular venues.

[old_hooper]

Nescac1, you are correct in Martin!  Thanks for pointing out.  Agree with what you are saying also about the talent level from the top NESCAC teams and lower level D1 is not that much different.  It would be nice to see competition between those teams on an on-going basis but as everyone knows, there is nothing to gain for the D1 school.  Example, Holy Cross loss to Williams.  I am sure HC AD said never again!

[P'bearfan]

http://d3recruits.blogspot.com/#!/

Had a chance to look at a few vidoes of next season's freshmen on the D3 recuits site.  As I mentioned earlier it's hard to tell how Freshmen will perform given the differences in the level of competition etc.  Having said that, I'm very interested in seeing how Jacob Nabatoff (Amherst) and Duncan Robinson (Williams) do next season.  Both look impressive on tape.  No doubt some of it will depend on who is in front of them and how much playing time they see.

[toad22]

I don't know much about recruiting any place but Williams, but I know that the coaches here go to lots of "academic" camps, and AAU tournaments. There is far less time in the winter to look at players, and there is some advantage to getting kids early. June and July are the months when things go crazy for the coaches. They are hardly at home. It seems to me to be an extraordinary amount of work to get 2-4 players. I know, however, it needs to be done if you are going to be good.

[P'bearfan]

It's been a little quite on the board recently so let me pose an open question:

What are Aaron Toomey's chances of repeating as D3 POY? 

He's obviously still the same great player (if not better with more experience) but will he have the right supporting cast around him to make another run?