MBB: NESCAC

[middhoops]

The LJs are putting on a basketball clinic in the 2nd half.

[nescac1]

Yup.  Combination of brilliant offensive execution by Amherst and a Williams team that just can't even come close on an outside shot.  It's safe to say that if Robinson, Epley, and Kilcullen -- three guys who combined coming in to shoot nearly 50 percent from deep --- go 1 for 14, Williams is going to be in big trouble vs. anyone.  Cold shooting nights will happen, although this is a particularly bad timing for one.  Of more concern for an Ephs fan is that Amherst has cut through the Williams defense like tissue paper. 

Amherst has been dominating of late vs. a very, very tough road schedule.  Credit to them as they are clearly the team to beat in the Northeastern portion of the country.  Pollack's return has been key for Amherst and they are a different team with him in the middle, as exciting a talent as David George is, the offense hums far more efficiently with Pollack involved. 

[jayhawk]

still very surprised by Amherst win. Have incredible respect for Williams team.They were favorite for NESCAC this year. Still an excellent team that has room to grow and will only get touger.
I have felt that as this point in time Ben Pollack has a more polished all around game than George. He has good hands, knack of being in right place, and places himself in good position for short jumper. Strong defense by Amherst.

One of Amherst's secrets is that the starting five is more athletic than you would think, Connor Green, Kalema, and Killian are fairly athletic
Last week Connor Green jammed a ball on a dunk over Hunter Sabety it bounced off rim but impressive.

Still lots of games to go - For Amherst, early injuries like last year's team led to some early losses - early lessosn and opportunities that Amherst seems to have grown from.

[ECSUalum]

Congrats to the LJs on a nice win over rival Williams tonight!!!
The Amherst machine continues to purr

[old_hooper]

Impressive performance for Amherst at Chandler.  Who would ever thought that Amherst could win without Toomey scoring in the second half against the Ephs.  First half Kalema was solid and second half Killian.  Pollack and Mussichia were 9/9 from the field off the bench with a combined 9 rebounds.  Very balanced effort from the LJs.  These last 4 games on the road for Amherst have demonstrated that they are playing at the level they need to be at this time of year.  Trinity next up.

[amh63]

This game is getting out of hand in the last few minutes of the game...as the refs...should I refer to them as "homers" in all sense of the word.....allows Amherst players to get mugged.  Really leaves me with a bad taste in a game between two good teams playing hard.  Amherst is trying to run out the clock...not going for more points.  Coach Maker calls  time outs, subs in and out, and the Ephs gets aggressive and rough.  Why?  Because they can with the refs allowing it.
Anyway, Amherst wins 82-70 in Willy town.  Announcers say that Robinson scores only 2 points in the second half.
Aaron has a quiet scoring night with only 9 points.  Seems that Tom Killian has another big night with 21 points..Kalema has a good night scoring.  Good announcers, unfortunately one has little clue about the non conference game being played.  Other announcer does not correct him.  Same case as in the Women's game.
Maybe I'm in a bad mood.  Saw the WBB game and then I lost power in my section of the city...an area with underground power cables even.  Power Company promise the power will return by 11 PM.  It returns with only a few minutes to go...Amherst ahead by 15 or so before the "mugging period" starts.  OK, will put this game behind me.  Won't look for a replay on NSN.   Next game this weekend in Hartford against a surging Trinity team.

[nescac1]

One last thought on the Ephs ... they have not scored over 73 points in the last seven games.  Now, they have played some pretty good defensive squads over that stretch, but still, Williams has way too much offensive firepower to consistently fail to break 80 points.  It seems like each game they will get good games from two players out of Wohl, Rooke-Ley (now hurt of course), Robinson, Mayer, and Epley, when they really need good games from four out of those five consistently.  At times (like early in the first half vs. Amherst) the offense flows beautifully, at other times they go through long stretches without a lot of movement or crisp execution.  I'm not really sure what the issue is, but fingers crossed that Maker can fix it in a hurry.  We know that he can coach offense, and we know that this team has plenty of talented scorers.  It just hasn't been coming together of late.  Fortunately, there is a lot of time left in the season and the Ephs' W-L record is still very strong, so there is time to get back to playing to their potential. 

[JustAFan]

I love your passion for the purple, nescac1, but until Williams learns to play better defense and gets much tougher on the boards they will not dethrone Amherst.  Putting aside the first 10 minutes of the game, for the final 30 minutes Amherst consistently got easy baskets and easy looks. Credit the Amherst offense in part, but I think more criticism should be aimed at the Williams defense, which could not stop the Jeffs penetration or dish offs.  In contrast, I thought Amherst did a great job over the last 30 minutes forcing Williams to start its offense out higher than it wanted, taking away any penetration or back door cuts, and they also were much tougher on the boards. Maybe Coach Maker's philosophy of 10 minutes of practicing defense and 90 minutes of practicing offense each practice is coming back to haunt him. What mystifies me the most is the inability of the Williams guards to defend on the perimeter--the Williams guards are plenty athletic and have the talent, but they are not getting it done.

I was surprised and pleased to see the 2 Williams frosh get some good playing time tonight. Both acquitted themselves well in a tough situation and I liked the fact that Aronowitz was willing to stick his nose in there and mix it up inside.  I would like to see Kilcullen get more time too--at times I think they are a better team with him on the floor rather than Mayer as heretical as that may sound because at least Kilcullen tries to play big and hit the boards, in contrast to Mayer.

There still is some time left for Coach Maker to work his magic, and despite tonight's loss Williams still is probably a top 15-20 team, but I worry that despite all of their much hyped offensive talent they simply are not mentally tough enough, or physical enough, on the defensive end to become a team that has the tools to compete for the national championship notwithstanding their offensive tools, and I'm not sure you can teach toughness if it's not already in the players' bones or part of the team's system or the dna of the team's leaders.  (Mike Crotty, where are you!)  And yet I'd love nothing more than for the Ephs prove me wrong!!

In the meantime, hats off to Amherst and especially Coach Hixon for the job he's done with this year's team.

[lefrakenstein]

Haven't posted in awhile, been content to lurk. Curious to know what Eph fans thought of the team's approach to the end of the game. I thought it was unsportsmanlike to take a very physical approach (to be diplomatic) towards the last two minutes of the game while the Jeffs on a least one or two occasions passed up open layups and were clearly happy to just dribble out the clock with the game in hand. Did anyone have a problem with that? Am I just being biased?

In any case, great game for the Jeffs. Nice to see them get a win against a tough squad without having a huge night from either Green or Toomey. Silver lining for the Ephs: in addition to Robinson, Greenman and Aronowitz both look like very capable players. That will be quite a difficult class to deal with.

One other thought that I've been meaning to post: Is Connor Green head-and-shoulders the best sophomore in the league right now? Hart and Haladyna are both very good, but, while obviously things could change a lot between now and then, I suspect Duncan Robinson will be Connor's biggest challenger for POY in a couple of years.

[AmherstStudent05]

Fantastic win for Amherst tonight! Really proud of the guys/coaching staff.  In a recent video on the Amherst website (referenced by the ever vigilant amh63), Coach Hixon lamented that the Little 3 no longer means what it used to.  Coach Hixon said the same thing when I was in school, and I confess it holds little weight for me; but, nevertheless, congratulations, Coach on another Little 3 Championship!

While I don't really feel that strongly about the Little 3, Williams I do feel quite strongly about.  I have experienced my fair share of heartbreaking losses in Chandler to know that every Amherst win there is truly special.

Lots of thoughts running through my mind, not sure how to organize them coherently.

First, on Williams.  To start, it was very disappointing not to see Rooke-Ley in the starting lineup tonight.  Reminded me a little of last year's game at Chandler when Wohl was out.  Like last year, Williams really can't afford to be missing any of its starting 5.  No offense to Greenman & Co., but, at them moment, the drop off is significant.

As nescac1 and middhoops have already mentioned, Michael Mayer looked MUCH better, and much more like himself tonight when compared to our game against him a couple of weeks ago.  Again, he did go for 18-11 in LeFrak, but I think it was very clear that he was half a step slow and unusually unsure of himself then.  In fact, during that first Williams game, I remember thinking how different he looked from the Michael Mayer I saw take the ball coast-to-coast against St. Thomas in Salem.  Well, that old Michael Mayer appears to be back.  In fact, he pulled a coast-to-coast layup eerily similar to that St. Thomas game.  As an Amherst fan, I would LOVE if Kilcullen got more minutes at Mayer's expense (and I really do respect Kilcullen's game).

Not sure what to say about Taylor Epley.  I thought coming into this year that he could do real damage against us now that he no longer had to worry about Willy Workman.  For some reason he just hasn't yet broken through against us this year (though, in fairness, he played great against us in last year's Championship game).  Obviously, I am not in the habit at all of giving Williams advice, but, watching the game, I wondered why Epley didn't try to drive more or Williams didnt try to post him up or something.  Anything to mix things up and help him find his stroke rather than just keep hoisting up the long ball when that obviously was a struggle tonight.

Now on to Amherst.  As an Amherst fan, this win is obviously really sweet.  Of course, any win over Williams is sweet, and any win at Chandler is particularly rewarding.  But what made this win so enjoyable was the manner in which it was accomplished.  At the beginning of the season, I was worried if Amherst could beat anyone absent strong offensive performances from Toomey and Green.  I certainly didn't think that Amherst could comfortably beat a VERY strong team, on the road, when Toomey and Green combined for only 19 points.  But that is exactly what happened tonight.

So many people to mention.  First, once again, Tom Killian turned in the best performance.  He went for 21 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.  He also hit a couple of back-breaking 3s.  Interestingly, I am not sure he really even touched the ball for the first 5 minutes or so of the game (a fact astutely noted by the broadcasters), but he sure did turn it on for the rest of the game.  He is still no Willy Workman, but his versatility and clutch play have been absolutely huge for us in recent weeks.

David Kalema also had another very fine outing as his shooting has really picked up of late.  You leave him open behind the arc at your own risk.

I want to pay a special shout out to Jospeh Mussachia who had BY FAR the best game I have ever seen him have in an Amherst uniform.  While hope springs eternal, at this point, I think it is unlikely that Joe will ever develop into a truly dynamic offensive threat for Amherst.  For Joe to make a solid contribution to this year's Amherst squad, he needs to play outstanding defense and make all the critical hussle plays.  That is exactly what he accomplished tonight.  Joe was sensational on the defensive end, more than holding his own with Duncan Robinson.  He also seems to be much more in synch with the rest of the guys on D concerning switches and help defense -- something that appeared to be a problem against Emerson in particular.  Joe also had some pivotal tips/blocks and rebounds.  Finally, he finished strong around the hoop when given the chance -- finishing with 9 points.

At the beginning of the season, I was worried that Coach Hixon didn't have enough pieces to play with on the bench to be able to throw enough different looks at opposing teams.  But, now with Gach developing into a strong-three point threat, Mussachia into a nice defensive stopper/rebounder, and Pollack being Pollack, Coach Hixon appears to now have some flexibility in how he wants to play teams.

The season is far from over, and much work remains to be done, but I continue to be impressed by how much Coach Hixon develops his players during the course of a season (surely other NESCAC programs can say the same).

Speaking of Pollack, I think his excellent work tonight has already been captured by other posters.  I just want to remind readers of a sick, behind-the-back pass in the paint he made to Mussachia.  Not sure I have ever seen another Amherst big do anything quite like that.

Lefrak, as to your question about the end of game tactics by Williams, like I suspect most Amherst fans I was disappointed with how the last few minutes played out.  Mostly, I had a meeting to get to and I just wanted the game to end and I was annoyed that Mayer seemed intent on delaying the inevitable.  Also, I do agree that, in at least this Amherst fan's eyes, the refs seemed to swallow the whistle a bit at the end of the game.

That being said, I am not sure how I can fault Maker for any of this.  His aggressive tactics did succeed in cutting Williams's deficit (precisely what he should be doing, I would think), and I don't think any of Williams's tactics were even remotely dirty or unsportsmanlike.  Aggressive? Competitive? Inconderate of those who really needed the game to end by 9:30? Sure.  But absolutely nothing more than that in my book.

Anyway, great win for Amherst.  Celebrate tonight, but then Hixon & Co. need to gear up for Trinity.  The mission continues.

[toad22]

First of all, Williams didn't mug anybody near the end of the game. That is garbage. If you expect a Williams team (or an Amherst team) to roll over for their biggest rival, you haven't been paying attention to this rivalry very long. All Williams did was play aggressively to the end of the game. It is the best practice I know for end of the game situations that will undoubtedly occur later in the season. Williams got beaten pretty badly tonight, by a better team. There is no doubt about it. Aaron Toomey is certainly the best play at Amherst in my 25 years of watching closely. He controls games, when he needs to. He does whatever is needed for them to win. It may be that the key to Williams beating Amherst, is for Aaron Toomey to graduate. Also needed for Williams to become very good this season, is for all of our upper classmen to begin playing well again. That certainly isn't happening at the moment.   

[jayhawk]

Did not feel Williams was inappropriately physical at end of game.
Williams was pressing and trying to win game. they decrease the deficit and fought to the end. 


Agree that having a floor general like Toomey was critical and his contributions are not measured in just points. He controlled the offensive flow of the game for Amherst and put players in a position to score. I would hate to want to try chase Toomey at end of game when he is dribbling to run time off the clock.

[magicman]

Nice story on the front page yesterday in Around the Region, about Hamilton's Peter Kazickas. The story has the headline "Helping Find Hope Through Hoops".  Check it out.

[nescac1]

(1) JustAFan, I agree basically with everything you said.  I noted in my first post after the game that Amherst had cut through the Williams defense like tissue paper.  Amherst executed at a very high level, and Williams had been playing better defense the last few games, so I'm not sure it is totally incurable, but the Ephs absolutely have to devote more attention to perimeter defense and defensive rebounding, the latter of which has been a particular problem all year.  In his post game comments Coach Maker said the man-to-man defense was bad but praised the work of the zone.  With all due respect, I'm not sure what game he was watching.  To me Amherst's precise ball movement, which consistently generated layups and open threes (not all of which went down, but all were great looks) made a mockery of the zone in the second half (which, again, had been more effective in prior games, but is very, very scoutable by a team with good coaching and veteran playmakers).  The problem is that the Ephs' best zone players -- McCreary and Weinheimer -- are now getting less PT due to the emergence of the frosh.  I think Williams should commit to either being a zone team or a man team, and practice the heck out of one, rather than have two defenses that are only sporadically effective.

(2) That being said, while the defense has to improve, the Ephs' calling card has and always will be offense.  In the 2010 and 2013 deep tourney runs, Williams gave up a lot of points, but simply outscored most of the teams they played with great shooting and execution.  The 2013 team in particular was not more offensively talented than this team, at least when it is fully healthy.  But starting late in the season, through the NCAA tourney, that team simply executed better on offense and was a lot more patient -- culminating in nearly beating a St. Thomas team that was unconsciously hot thanks to tremendous offensive play.  Some nights, the shots aren't falling and you are out of rhythm as a group.  Tonight was one of those nights and the same looks that usually drop for three shooters who are three of the best three point shooters anywhere were clanging off the side of the rim.  But once the shots started missing, the problem was that rather than work the ball for better shots out of the offense, the team lost its composure and started playing way too much "hero ball" -- something that also happened in some other recent games.  I think even if Williams improves a lot on defense (and they better) an elite team with good athletes such as Amherst will be able to exploit some aspects of the defense.  Williams simply needs to score a lot more points in a game like this, or frankly, in any game they've been playing lately.  That means hitting shots, but it also means getting more and more good looks for the best offensive players on the team -- who are, right now, Robinson and Mayer. 

(3) Agree with others that the silver lining for Williams was the play of the frosh.  This was Duncan Robinson's worst game as an Eph but he still made a few electric plays early.  The guy is human and can't hit all his threes every game, but I liked that he was generally being aggressive despite a few of the shots he typically nails not dropping.  He will be better than fine.  Aronowitz is an exciting, athletic, explosive wing the likes of which the Ephs haven't had for awhile.  He is still clearly learning how to attack a defense but the potential is there.  Finally, Greenman acquitted himself as well as you can ask.  Kalema went at him hard early in the game and Greenman played great D early (even blocking a shot which he was not credited for -- give the 5'7 guy some love scorekeeper!).  Eventually his level of D tailed off, but he won't face many backcourts as physical or as athletic and he showed he is willing to hang tough.  He had a few really nice passes in the open court, not all of which his teammates were able to convert, alas.  He also showed his shooting range nailing a deep three and with another that did everything but go down.  If those three guys can keep developing, the Ephs will become a much tougher out, especially if they can get Hayden back from injury in the relatively near future. 

(4) I think it's crazy to say the Ephs are better with Kilcullen out there than Mayer.  Mayer was great last night and was basically, other than Wohl, the only guy in any rhythm offensively.

(5) The thug comments are ridiculous. If there is one thing this team could use, in fact, it's a bit more thuggery in its veins (as JustaFan noted), especially with the feistiest / toughest guy on the roster out with injury.  Amherst's bigs, especially Pollack and Mussachia, bullied the Ephs around with physical play.  Williams was certainly not overly physical even on the rare occasions it was being physical at all. 

(6) Williams does not yet look like the national contender many of us thought they would be.  But I also don't think it is time to panic.  They have three losses, two of them to a top-10 Amherst team.  They are still 13-3 with several very good wins (at Hampden Sydney and Bowdoin in particular, also at Trinity and Springfield).  They really haven't had a stretch where the entire team has been healthy yet this season -- just think how different Amherst looked in the fall when they were struggling with injuries.  If they can get Hayden back before the NESCAC tourney and improve in a few key areas, I still think they have the potential to play with anyone, including the Jeffs, although the Jeffs are clearly superior than Williams at full strength at this point.

(7) Finally, I thought the folks who were complaining about Toomey's accolades last year were ridiculous.  They look even more ridiculous right now.  I agree with Toad that he is the best player I've ever seen play for Amherst, eclipsing Andrew Olson and Jamal Wilson.  He completely controls the game and does whatever his team needs him to do to win, and is the runaway choice for best player in NESCAC and but for the ridiculous year Aaron Walton-Moss is having, and with all due respect for Tyler Tillema, would be the best player in the country as well.  He is such a smart player as evidence by craftily drawing a foul on Daniel Wohl on a three point shot that would have been a block for anyone else, and he also somehow plays good defense while virtually never getting into foul trouble.  As an Eph fan, I will be happy to see him depart and remain hopeful that Duncan is the heir apparent (although he will have plenty of competition from Connor Green and the chronically-overlooked Matt Hart among young NESCAC players). 

[jumpshot]

1. Amherst's teams the past couple of years are quite good, comprised of big, broad, strong, athletic players with a swagger and effective combination of ability to get to the rim, shoot threes, play defense, and rebound, guided by Aaron, a true point guard who controls the game with excellent offensive skills. Note that current amherst roster has 7 freshmen, 6 of whom are 6'4" or taller and 4 sophs, three of whom are 6'7". The players play hard, make crisp cuts, and pay attention to detail.

2. Agree with JustAFan's comments regarding inadequate defense and rebounding by current Williams squad; its offense depends upon outside shooting mixed in with a little bit of inside play; perhaps easier to prepare for as opponents can focus on perimeter defense; Williams has done best when armed as well with effective centers (Chapin, Coffin, Whittington, etc.) All NESCAC teams have been a bit "pretty" over the years, consisting of lots of shooters with fewer big men. When a team has some effective size as well as shooters, productive seasons emerge. Teams that get to Salem, especially from Wisconsin and the mid-west, are characterized by size, rebounding, and defense, as well as shooting.

4. Strategically, as I have mentioned before, there are now pronounced differences in overall approach to the athletic experience at NESCAC schools. For example, amherst's recently expressed intention is to win national championships in a few sports (basketball, soccer, etc.) for a number of reasons. Williams supports broad-based excellence in many sports for men and women as evidenced by 16 of 18 Directors Cups. Middlebury does what it wants not particularly limited by agreements on "tips" and so forth, aided by Panther Pride, a fine cultural attribute, and a longstanding positive athletic culture for men and women. Wesleyan is building its athletic component; Trinity is known for alumni special interests in football, squash, etc. The Maine schools worked hard to have limits put on team size in football, build up basketball, soccer, lacrosse, etc. The playing field is different and much more uneven from several years ago, in part with turnover in presidents and athletic directors with accompanying moderating understandings and compliance diluted, accommodating admissions, etc.. All of which is not necessarily good or bad, simply the reality of explicit choices in place for several years now clearly evident.