MBB: NESCAC

[old_hooper]

I agree that Amherst is loaded with promising young bigs, but other than Pollack none of them have done anything at all in game action yet.  They clearly have the talent and in 1-2 years will likely be scary good on the interior.  But no way that you can say that this Amherst team is deeper in terms of bigs than the national championship team, which was beyond loaded with experienced, proven big guys who they could play in waves: Hopkins, Jones, Goldsmith, Walters, O'Shea, Holsey.  Is the current group more talented?  Quite possibly.  But when only one has experience in the rotation, hard to say they are deeper up front than that team, until they prove it on the court. 

No doubt about it, very talented but you are running 07-08 teams together.  Walters was a wing. The 07 team the three players that saw action were Hopkins, O'Shea and Jones.  The fouls were used wisely. None of them averaged over 17 minutes a game.  Goldsmith was out because of injury.  Holsey only saw the floor in clean-up.  08 it was Hopkins and Jones starting with Goldsmith and Holsey coming in off the bench.  To your point Pollack is the only one with significant experience and the others will have to prove they are up to the challenge.  All I am saying when you have a 6'9 soph Sanderson that is highly regarded offensive player and when you have an athletic player of David George abilities and put Levine and Nabatoff, it may not be the best but certainly reason for optimism.  The good thing about this group is they will have ample time to develop because the bulk of the offense is going to come from an experienced backcourt in Toomey, Kalema, Killian and Green.

[amh63]

Hoya73....good memory on Tom Hoover who was a "man" to the thinner John Thompson at the time.  He did have a weakness of sorts.  He was in love with his facial appearance as he was called "pretty face" by opponents in the know.  Opponents could get into his "head"  by saying that they would touch his face.  Question to you is who was the other guard...a freshman when my team played.  A very smooth and quick guard around 6 feet with a last name that sounds like Austin.
Just got off the phone with my sons and there is a possibility one will make part of the game....got to work on Sat until 4PM.  Joshua, the younger one. may send his wife down since she likes the play of Conner Green...who she calls "JOE COLLEGE" after seeing him last season in LeFrak at the first Tufts game.  Its all about labels/"nick names" with the younger generation.
I know, this post is way off the topic on hand. 
Agree in part with Nescac1 with his reference to the the Amherst 2007-8 teams...lots of bigs.  Good to have two members of those team as assistants on the sidelines....maybe to help in getting two bigs to work together up front.
Forgot a thought...been watching some featured Div 1 games to see how players have adjusted to the new rules.  Surprised to see seasoned coaches starting talented FYs...other than at Kentucky..even Coach K at Duke.  Therefore, it will not be surprising to see Coach Hixon use more of the talent on hand...change his ways a little.

[ronk]

Ronk...eastern h.s..  The forward on that John Carroll team had the nick name "monk" who went on to play for ND...being around  6'5" tall...and later as a priest became the Pres. of Notre Dame.  One of the guards was George Leftwitch who went on to play college ball in Philly.  Spoke with him  a few years ago when he was the coach at Sidwell Friends..before leaving to be the AD at St. John's , I believe.

  George retired in June from being Carroll's AD. I saw him play at Villanova as a soph w/ Wali Jones and Hubie White(another ABA player) before his knee injury. Another Interhigh BB coach from that time, Bell Vocational's Billy Coward is a frequent workout contemporary at our health club.

[P'bearfan]

Thoughts on Bowdoin's upcoming tournament (combination of insight and some guess work):

Bowdoin should have a good chance to win this tournament - I haven't seen the other teams play before but judging by last year's records and Bowdoin's size advantage it seems reasonable.

Starting 5:
1-Mathias
2-Madlinger
3-White
4-Pieri
5-Swords

I expect that Hausman, Donnelly and the FY Fuller will get time in the rotation as well. 

Keys for Bowdoin - especially in the first game against Western Connecticut State:
-Get stable play at PG.  They don't need to do anything spectacular - just avoid mistakes and get some flow going
-Hit outside shots early on.  I expect Bowdoin will see a lot of zone defense in part b/c of the rule changes and in part b/c the other teams in the tournament are smaller.  If Bowdoin can hit from outside early it will force WCSU to stretch the defense and create opportunities inside
-Stay out of foul trouble.  Bowdoin just doesn't have the depth to lose guys to fouls.
-Get 25 min from Swords.  If that happens they should be in good shape. 

On Saturday I expect Bowdoin will try to pound it inside as both Regis and Fitchburg State are significantly smaller.  Regis has one player listed at 6'-5" and one at 6'-4".  Fitchburg State has four guys listed at 6'-4".

What could trip up Bowdoin?  1) An aggressive, pressing D.  Without Hurley that type of D has the potential to create headaches for them.  2) Foul trouble.

Looking forward to the start of the season!!  Should be fun.

[P'bearfan]

http://athletics.bates.edu/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/20131113o1n7o0

Really nice preview of Bates' upcoming season is posted on their team website.  With all the new faces and height they have, they'll be a different team this year.  Although as a friend pointed out, it's likely that they'll wind up with 2 freshman on the court at the same time and unless their names are Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker that's probably a bad thing.

[P'bearfan]

http://www.colby.edu/athletics_cs/mhooppre11-14-13.cfm

Colby has a nice preview as well.....hmmm....would be nice to see something similar for the P'bears. 

[WPI89]

Sorry to invade all things NESCAC here but big news in the upper echelon of NE teams - WPI's best player and leading scorer, Marco Coppola will undergo season ending ankle surgery tomorrow.

I think they still may be deep enough to compete for the NEWMAC,but I would think it will curtail their chances of running the pre-conference schedule and certainly would effect their ability to perform better in the post season against tourney type teams.

Bummer

MASSD3 posted a link to a Worcester telegram article over on the NEWMAC site.

[nescac1]

Interesting Bates preview, thanks for sharing: nice to see a bit more information than the typical platitudes and generalities that these season previews typically entail. 

Trinity has its roster and season preview up.  Although the Bantams have some young talent, they will be hampered by the defection, for the umpteenth year in a row, of multiple returning players from the prior season's squad.  This year, they lose Liam Langas, Jamil Ebo, Mickel Simpson, Mark Richards, and Grady Smith, two of whom (Ebo and Simpson) were returning starters, and a third (Langas) would likely have been a significant player for them.  The attrition rate at Trinity continues to be off the charts.  This year's roster is also the shortest group of basketball players I've ever seen in NESCAC.  SIX guys are 5'10 and under, eight guys between 6'0 and 6'5, and only two guys over 6'5.   The average height on the roster looks to clock in at around 6'2.  The Bants do have a nice nucleus of solid players in Papadeas, Ajayi, Starks, Gliedman, and first-year Ogundeko who should at least keep them competitive in most games this year and could form a pretty nice starting five by next season.  The key is, will they stick around to develop as a group? 

http://athletics.trincoll.edu/sports/mbkb/2013-14/roster
http://athletics.trincoll.edu/sports/mbkb/2013-14/releases/Men-s_Basketball_21314

[madzillagd]

FYI - The Scoreboard/Schedule isn't showing the video link to the Midd-Alvernia game currently so here's the link to the F&M page.  It is listed on their schedule so I'm assuming they will be showing the game. 

http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/fandm.portal#

[madzillagd]

WPI - Saw that on the NEWMAC board.  That sucks.   There seems to have been a rash of major injuries this year in the NE that is going to hamper a lot of the top clubs.  Really thought Tufts and WPI were poised to challenge Am/Will/Midd this year and instead it looks like it's going to be a lot harder to make that leap this year.  As a fan you always want to see the best players compete and unfortunately I don't think we are going to get that with a lot of clubs.

[pick and roll]

First Hurley and now Coppola - bad year for Watertown guards!

[middhoops]

FYI - The Scoreboard/Schedule isn't showing the video link to the Midd-Alvernia game currently so here's the link to the F&M page.  It is listed on their schedule so I'm assuming they will be showing the game. 

http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/fandm.portal#

The Middlebury page says it's on video.  D3hoops.com says only the 2nd game (Franklin & Marshall vs. Baruch) is on. 
If it's not on:  Midd fans can text 520-822-6033 for updates or we'll post it for you should the game be really compelling.
Vandy and I are in our 60s.  This digital instancy is as daunting as it is delightful for us.  Some of you guys remember not finding out who won the Ali-Frazier, March 1971 fight til the next morning, right?

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

So is Middlebury just vacationing down this way for the week or are they going to make the drive two consecutive weekends?

[Bucket]

Two consecutive weekends.

Panthers have a home game on Tuesday.

[middhoops]

Two consecutive weekends.

Panthers have a home game on Tuesday.

No offense intended toward Green Mountain College, but compared to the highly ranked teams sandwiched around them, Middlebury may have a well deserve respite on Tuesday. 
Alvernia, Franklin & Marshal, Stevenson, St. Mary's........remember all the talk about the "bracket of death"?  If not actually quite as perilous; as Novembers go, it's severe.