MBB: NESCAC

[amh63]

Great posts people!.....but you humanities majors know that. .
GoWes...nice post.....where have you been?  Maybe you can post on the post season games....like an unbiased independent reporter...really!   Think on it.

For those Amherst and Middlebury fans/posters.....there are some pics of the game on Sunday.  Mainly of the seniors and their families.  The game pics seem primarily of players that will return.  Yes there are a few of Toomey and Kalema....so do not be alarmed...Amherst does not have a grad school.
There is one of the crowd behind the Panther bench.  Did not see anyone I would recognize.  Did see Willy Workman's parents in another pic.  The pics are on the home page of the Amherst website.  Go to the flicker button...hit sets and see the BB game set.  Enjoy...nice pic of Merryman and "Prince Valiant ".  I know...everyone noticed his muscles/build more....even the announcers.
One more thing on the student announcers...they noticed Merryman's flashy shoes!  Good stuff . One of the reason,IMO , he wears them.

AmStudO5...liked you support of student announcers.  In my eyes, schools like Middlebury and Williams because of their size/enrollment  and grad schools are Universities .  Yes, I'm raising tension here...I could not help myself ...again.

The Amherst games start at 2 on Sat.; men's game at 4.  Hope all posters get fine streaming videos!

[Bucket]

What if? What if? Every team has key plays that make or break the season. For Wes it was the final possession in regulation, OT, and 2OT vs. Middlebury. The Cardinals had the final shot in each situation. A Wes victory over Midd would have created a four way tie for fourth with Wes, Midd, Trinity and Hamilton all 5-5...and by the quirks of the tiebreaker system Wes would get the five spot and travel to Trinity. Midd would actually drop to seven and travel to Williams. The two way tie for 8th would got to Tufts due to their head to head victory over Colby and the Mules would stay home. As it happened the ball didn't bounce their way on any of those three possessions and due to the quirks of the tiebreaker the Cards are left at home. This is not to say that Wes deserves the fifth seed, or even the eighth (very hard to pick between three teams 4-6); just pointing out how little things can make or break a season.

Separately, as recent discussion revolves around the top players in the conference, and none of the names are Cardinals, how did they go 4-6? I suspect it's a combination of balanced scoring and lack of a signature win to get everyone's attention. Trinity is in a similar situation even at 5-5.

Enough about Wesleyan. Good luck to the teams who have advanced and let's hope for strong NESCAC representation in Salem.

Of Middlebury's 10 conference games, only three (wins against Colby and Trinity and the loss to Amherst) did not come down to the final possession. So with 7 games being in doubt until the clock struck 0:00, trying to discern alternate scenarios for Midd would make even Panther Nation's hydra-head spin.

[nescac1]

New regional rankings, Bowdoin takes quite a hit from that Tufts loss.  For NESCAC schools, Amherst and Williams are locks to be in the tourney, no matter what.  I still think Bowdoin is in pretty good shape if they beat Trinity, and close to a lock with two wins in the NESCAC tourney.  There are a LOT of bubble schools who have been picking up losses of late, which helps Bowdoin's cause.  They need to root for Eastern Conn to win its conference, and either Babson or WPI to win NEWMAC (even better if the team that doesn't win NEWMAC picks up another loss), because I think New England is likely to get three Pool C bids, and certainly at least two.  Looks like Midd will have to win NESCAC to get in, barring two more wins in the tourney and almost no upsets in any conference tourneys, and even then, it may be a stretch. 

Rank School In-Region Record Overall Record 
1 Amherst 21-2 21-3 
2 Williams 20-3 21-3 
3 Babson 18-5 18-5 
4 Eastern Connecticut State 18-5 18-5 
5 WPI 20-3 20-3 
6 Bowdoin 19-4 19-4 
7 Springfield 15-6 16-6 
8 Albertus Magnus 21-1 21-2 
9 Rhode Island College 16-7 16-7 
10 Nichols 18-5 18-5 
11 Middlebury 15-8 16-8

[Old Guy]

I had a great experience doing radio pbp during my student days at Washington & Lee; I even have a tape somewhere of me interviewing Dick Vitale during a W&L-Hampden Sydney game--he was on campus that day for a speaking engagement and joined me in the booth for 5 minutes. Bucket

Boy. Can't wait to get home to listen to that tape. I'll need more than two at 51 Main with you before going through that ordeal. NOTHIN' BUT NET, BAYBEE! HE"S A DIAPER DANDY! Half the student announcers are channeling Dick Vitale, who is un-listenable, parodies himself, a clown. That's the problem - the student announcers all want to be Dick Vitale.

Bah. Humbug.

You're killin' me, Bucket. Agreed, Panther Nation are excellent doing the radio broadcasts, but they are rare, if not unique, even at Middlebury. Their goal is to be be "balanced" and "professional." They are one in a million (okay, two in a million). Seriously, what's the ratio between decent and awful in your listening experience? One to five? One in ten?

Last year, I caught the Colby-Bowdoin game on video - the Colby announcer called Bowdoin the BLACK BEARS the whole game - and that's their arch-rival for 100years! And Williams announcer last year talking about Joey KIZZLE's funny-looking shot. Or the young woman color commentator last year from I can't remember where whose voice was like fingernails on a blackboard (and I like Suzyn Waldman and I'm a Red Sox fan!). The fooling around, the inside jokes - it's annoying.

Do the schools that have student announcers audition the students before handing them the mike, or do the first two to come into the AD's or SID's office get the gig? It's the latter, I bet. Or they're two field house favorites. Or, maybe, they just grab two kids who wander into the gym for the game that night. I don't believe it's a stringent process. I admit, some are better than others. It's a crapshoot.

Okay, I'll settle down. And in my working life, I was supposed to be a student advocate. I'm done, defeated. I'll opine no more on this topic. I'll just go over in the corner and stew in my own juice.

(signed) The Grinch

[madzillagd]

OG, I think the only thing missing is the: 

GET OFF MY LAWN!   

[middhoops]

Announcer issue at its minimum.
What do you think the chances are that Bruce Bosley at NSN doesn't speak to an assistant coach before the game to be sure he knows the correct pronunciation of every players' name?  Having done radio my own sorry self, that was a no brainer.  C'mon, no one can dispute this minor bit of common sense in dispensing information.  Doesn't matter who is listening. 
(amh63, this is not a rip on you.  not risking that beer at the High Horse.)

[AmherstStudent05]

I made it! I made it!  AS05 is "featured" in the latest installment of The Road to Salem.  One of the happiest days of my life.

To be honest, with great looks and a bit of hard work, I always knew this was a possibility, but until it actually happens you don't fully appreciate what an accomplishment it is.  So many people I have to thank.  First, I want to thank my parents, for always supporting me.  I want to thank the Producers for taking a chance on a kid with a dream.  And, of course, I have to thank the Academy.  I definitely could not have done this without the Academy.

Bucket and the Dean of This n That have cameo roles, but I think everyone who watches this episode will agree that the highlight is provided by the striking gentlemen in a grey Amherst fleece sitting a few rows above the Amherst bench.  I am going to work on my skills so maybe, if the stars align, I can get a speaking role back at LeFrak in a couple of weeks.  I can talk everyone's ear off about Toomey.  Word on the street is that Aaron is majoring in Urdu.  Kid LOVES a challenge! (Maybe I will just skip Road to Salem and jump straight to the pages of SI!)

Interesting to see another perspective on Amherst.  I always knew Amherst students (including myself) truly feel superior to everyone else in the NESCAC.  I just didn't realize that everyone else knows this.  I thought we did a much better job feigning humility.  We obviously need to try harder.

Seriously though, great job as always (but next time consider including more crowd shots--they are the real ratings-getter).

[GoWesYoungMan]

Old Guy-- with regards to post season recognition, I don't think any of the Wes players did enough on a consistent basis to earn consideration. The good news is we have a core of freshman and sophomores who played well enough to compete and are learning how to win. I'll petition for recognition when we deserve it--we're not there yet.

Amh63 thanks for the invitation to play unbiased reporter. One of my challenges is that I have only seen these teams/ players once--when they played Wes. I suspect this is an issue for most, which would of course explain why Amherst fans might be impressed with Hudnut and Midd fans with Hart.
Meanwhile it is my sincere desire to be present for next year's playoffs as a very biased observer.

[ECSUalum]

I know people do get annoyed by the overly statistical stuff, so if you're one of those people feel free to move on past this post. By the way, I haven't posted in a long time, but thanks nescac1 for the props on my last stats-binge, I appreciate the props.

I wanted to try to add a little statistical gloss on the importance of amherst losing Pollack. I think it's easy to watch a lot of Amherst games and come away with the impression that Pollack is much better on offense and George is better on defense. However, I think that 1) the gap on defense is much smaller than you might think, and 2) that the gap on offense is much bigger than you might think.

My main evidence for the first statement is that Pollack is a much better rebounder than George. His overall rebounding rate is 17.08, compared to 11.06 for George. 17.08 is a very good mark and is far-and-away the best mark on this amherst team. By contrast, George grabs barely more than the average for all players (10.0 - rebounding rate is just the % of available rebounds you grab while on the court. 100% / divided by 10 players = 10). While their numbers are actually close in terms of offensive rebounds, the discrepancy is huge on defense, where Pollack grabbed 20.34% of available rebounds and George only 9.86% of available rebounds, a frankly terrible mark for a center. The eye-test suggests that George is currently a better rim protector than Pollack, which is certainly very valuable. But it's hard to know exactly how much better he is without awesome sportvu stats like opponent FG% while a certain defender is near the rim. I thought about going back and scouring play-by-play recaps to try to see what % of lay-ups and dunks opponents made while George was on the court versus when Pollack was on the court, but that's just too much work.

As for the second statement, my evidence is that George's TO rate, the % of his possessions that end in a turnover, is a whooping 25.95, the highest of any player in the league. Pollack's is only 8.90, the second-lowest among Amherst's regulars, trailing only Killian.

In summary, losing Pollack is a really big deal, maybe bigger than people realize. He has the second highest PER on the team, above even Killian. I don't mean to disparage George - I think he's a great player, and like most freshman bigs, will likely get much better as he gains experience, but right now the gap between him and Pollack is pretty large.

I know statistics can be massaged, however stats over time generally do not lie and are better than some of the nutty poll ranking we see in college sports.  Great job lefrank!! +1

[ECSUalum]

I had a great experience doing radio pbp during my student days at Washington & Lee; I even have a tape somewhere of me interviewing Dick Vitale during a W&L-Hampden Sydney game--he was on campus that day for a speaking engagement and joined me in the booth for 5 minutes. Bucket

Boy. Can't wait to get home to listen to that tape. I'll need more than two at 51 Main with you before going through that ordeal. NOTHIN' BUT NET, BAYBEE! HE"S A DIAPER DANDY! Half the student announcers are channeling Dick Vitale, who is un-listenable, parodies himself, a clown. That's the problem - the student announcers all want to be Dick Vitale.

Bah. Humbug.

You're killin' me, Bucket. Agreed, Panther Nation are excellent doing the radio broadcasts, but they are rare, if not unique, even at Middlebury. Their goal is to be be "balanced" and "professional." They are one in a million (okay, two in a million). Seriously, what's the ratio between decent and awful in your listening experience? One to five? One in ten?

Last year, I caught the Colby-Bowdoin game on video - the Colby announcer called Bowdoin the BLACK BEARS the whole game - and that's their arch-rival for 100years! And Williams announcer last year talking about Joey KIZZLE's funny-looking shot. Or the young woman color commentator last year from I can't remember where whose voice was like fingernails on a blackboard (and I like Suzyn Waldman and I'm a Red Sox fan!). The fooling around, the inside jokes - it's annoying.

Do the schools that have student announcers audition the students before handing them the mike, or do the first two to come into the AD's or SID's office get the gig? It's the latter, I bet. Or they're two field house favorites. Or, maybe, they just grab two kids who wander into the gym for the game that night. I don't believe it's a stringent process. I admit, some are better than others. It's a crapshoot.

Okay, I'll settle down. And in my working life, I was supposed to be a student advocate. I'm done, defeated. I'll opine no more on this topic. I'll just go over in the corner and stew in my own juice.

(signed) The Grinch

Hahahahahahaha,  hilarious post +1 for Old Guy bravo!!!

[amh63]

Removed my last post on Announcers.  Subject has ran it's course...and my mind was wandering around.  Cannot follow the fine OG post.  A suggestion here....maybe a new handle for Old Guy....OGG.....for Old Grumpy Guy or Old Guy Grinch   Just kidding and testing new material for a "new life".

AS05...like the shorten handle.  So you have seen a preview?   Calm down....do you have an agent yet?

In a more serious tone, am getting a little nervous about the weekend games.  When BC upsets the no. 1 team in the country...fans take notice as well as the bookies.

Do see that the webcasts of the games are spread around in time somewhat.  The Panthers game starts as early as 1PM.
FYI, the Amherst games....both MBB and WBB are to be webcasted.  See the Amherst website.  Yesterday, the NESCAC website did not show any live Amherst games....therefore D3hoops will not.  Still a couple days to go....the mail has been slow in this weather lately.

[Bucket]

I made it! I made it!  AS05 is "featured" in the latest installment of The Road to Salem.  One of the happiest days of my life.

To be honest, with great looks and a bit of hard work, I always knew this was a possibility, but until it actually happens you don't fully appreciate what an accomplishment it is.  So many people I have to thank.  First, I want to thank my parents, for always supporting me.  I want to thank the Producers for taking a chance on a kid with a dream.  And, of course, I have to thank the Academy.  I definitely could not have done this without the Academy.

Bucket and the Dean of This n That have cameo roles, but I think everyone who watches this episode will agree that the highlight is provided by the striking gentlemen in a grey Amherst fleece sitting a few rows above the Amherst bench.  I am going to work on my skills so maybe, if the stars align, I can get a speaking role back at LeFrak in a couple of weeks.  I can talk everyone's ear off about Toomey.  Word on the street is that Aaron is majoring in Urdu.  Kid LOVES a challenge! (Maybe I will just skip Road to Salem and jump straight to the pages of SI!)

Interesting to see another perspective on Amherst.  I always knew Amherst students (including myself) truly feel superior to everyone else in the NESCAC.  I just didn't realize that everyone else knows this.  I thought we did a much better job feigning humility.  We obviously need to try harder.

Seriously though, great job as always (but next time consider including more crowd shots--they are the real ratings-getter).

+1

Here's the link for those who want to watch: http://vimeo.com/87147196

[Old Guy]

OG, I think the only thing missing is the: 

GET OFF MY LAWN!  madzillagd

It's true. I'm headed in that direction, fast. You know what else, Madz? They drive too damn fast, kids these days. "Hey, Numnuts, slow down! I'm walking my dog here!"

Gotta commend AmherstStudent05: he got "Amherst students" and "humility" in the same thought. That's a first.

When I was a young teacher in Cleveland, my housemate was an Amherst alum my age. We were buddies. At a party one night, I introduced him as "Pete, from Amherst." He took me aside a bit later and told me, "the 'h' in Am-erst is silent." Oh yeah, Pete. Well, I wasn't after that, He was "Pete, from am-HHHHHHerst." You'd have thought I was from Scotland.

To be honest, AmherstStudent05 is something of a problem for us Middlebury fans. He is showing himself on this board as generally fair-minded and appreciative of the talents and performances of other NESCAC teams and players. He's doing some real damage to the stereotype.

[Bucket]

OG, I think the only thing missing is the: 

GET OFF MY LAWN!  madzillagd

It's true. I'm headed in that direction, fast. You know what else, Madz? They drive too damn fast, kids these days. "Hey, Numnuts, slow down! I'm walking my dog here!"

Gotta commend AmherstStudent05: he got "Amherst students" and "humility" in the same thought. That's a first.

When I was a young teacher in Cleveland, my housemate was an Amherst alum my age. We were buddies. At a party one night, I introduced him as "Pete, from Amherst." He took me aside a bit later and told me, "the 'h' in Am-erst is silent." Oh yeah, Pete. Well, I wasn't after that, He was "Pete, from am-HHHHHHerst." You'd have thought I was from Scotland.

To be honest, AmherstStudent05 is something of a problem for us Middlebury fans. He is showing himself on this board as generally fair-minded and appreciative of the talents and performances of other NESCAC teams and players. He's doing some real damage to the stereotype.

Clearly you haven't watched the latest episode. That anecdote is captured on film for all to see.

[Panthernation]

On student announcers, have to join Old Guy in favor of non-students. Students tend to have little background knowledge of the opposing team or the context of the game, and their standard of success seems to be how excitedly they can deliver one-liners after a big play by the home team. They make it about themselves, their friends on the team, and their love of the team. Never about Division III basketball, rarely attempting to provide thoughtful analysis to the game being played. Lord Jeff Cast is the obvious epitome: five seconds of incoherent yelling after a big Amherst play, giggly self-referential humor, heaping praise for the Jeffs unmeasured by objective commentary, etc. But unfortunately they are not much of an exception. 50% of the time we mute the broadcast when it is students.

Why is this? While it isn't too hard to find students who love basketball or are passionate about their team when it is convenient (i.e. the team is playing at home, and winning), it is difficult to find students who respect Division III basketball enough to treat the gig seriously. With little training or accountability, doing the prerequisites to a satisfactory job — asking about pronunciations, learning the other team's recent history, taking note of nuances in style of play — all require an appreciation for the big picture that most students lack.