MBB: NESCAC

jumpshot · February 26, 2014, 09:57:32 AM

...and TrinColl, that's why NESCAC 1 is an All-American on this board!

madzillagd · February 26, 2014, 09:59:13 AM

But by all means, please go out and beat Amherst and prove him wrong.

TrinColl1 · February 26, 2014, 10:00:17 AM

I agree with part of your post and TOTALLY disagree with another part. The part I agree with is they need someone to step up offensively and have a go to guy. I think they have a couple guys capable of doing that who are young but we will see if they take that step.

Part of the whole reason guys departed before if you remember when Cosgrove took over they had 9 guys on the team with 6 of them seniors. They had to recruit in mass just to field a team and be able to practice. When that happens and you have such a big class (10-12 guys they brought in) you are bound to have guys leave. Now they have that core and dont have to recruit as much this group will be together.

The part I totally disagree with is you saying the reason their defense stats are so great is because of their out of conference schedule. Lets look at the stats we are talking about defensively.

FG% Defense- In Conference- 35.9/ Overall- 36.6
3PT FG% Defense- In Conference- 26.9/ Overall 26.7
Rebound Margin- In Conference- +9.5/ Overall +9.8
PT Per Game- In Conference- 61.3/Overall 60.7

There is little to no difference at all in their defensive stats in and out of conference. And to say Bowdoin just missed shots is not giving Trinity any credit for their effort on the defensive end. Watching that game (and I only saw the last 10 minutes and the overtimes) both teams played their tails off on the defensive end. So to just dismiss it as "Oh Bowdoin just missed shots" is not giving Trinity the credit for how hard and well they played on the defensive end.(and Bowdoin did too)

TrinColl1 · February 26, 2014, 10:02:24 AM

I am not saying who is going to win this game Saturday. Amherst should be favored and should win at home. But to just look at it as who is Amherst going to face in the final would be a mistake. Trinity clearly hung with them the first time around losing by 6 and they can match up to Amherst with their athleticism that can give Amherst some problems.

middhoops · February 26, 2014, 10:04:48 AM

Trinity is arguably the most athletic team in the conference except Amherst. They have the basis of a good team now, but need to add some star players while developing the quality players they have. This year we've seen that the Bantams can be very good. Next year we'll see if they can step it up and be consistent.
For what it's worth TrinColl1, it's not like all the other teams aren't very concerned with your team going forward.
Oh, and welcome to the board. It's great for all of us to have more Trinity presence in hoops discussion.

nescac1 · February 26, 2014, 10:15:29 AM

Fair point on the defensive stats. Trinity has held some very good teams to putrid shooting performances, and they seem to only improve when they play good competition.

Regarding the guys leaving, the problem isn't that some guys didn't stick around -- that will always happen, as you say, with a big class -- it's more who the guys were who left, really talented players, many of whom were starters, and it wasn't just from one big group of recruits -- from each class year that has come in, a few key recruits have left the program year after year. Could just be a string of bad luck / guys leaving for very good reasons -- for example, Varun Ram wanted to play D1, not much you can do about that -- or it could speak to something more problematic in terms of how tough the coach is on the players. I lack your inside perspective so I have no idea, but it has been striking to observe over time.

Did not by any means intend to denigrate Trinity's effort in the Bowdoin game -- Trinity has a lot of big, athletic guys who play really aggressive, in-your-face defense, Ajayi and Conaway in particular, but really everyone buys in. Trinity is not at all a fun team to play and they will only get tougher going forward. At the same time, while Trinity's defense certainly made life difficult for Bowdoin's shooters, Bowdoin had its fair share of good looks at the basket that simply didn't fall in that game, as well. And the bigger issue is still that Trinity had very few quality wins this year ... they beat up on the lower half of NESCAC, but, despite the great defense, haven't really broken through against the top teams. They will certainly have their chance to do so on Saturday!

By the way, I will echo middhoops' welcome to the board, hopefully you will stick around to continue providing some Trinity perspective, which has been sorely missed here since the former Trinity player who used to post regularly departed ...

grabtherim · February 26, 2014, 11:17:10 AM

Trinity is an interesting story for all of the reasons you guys mention. The key is whether they can build off of this season, the best under Cosgrove. After my pretty good showing last week, and since Walzy is still playing hide and go seek, here are my lines for tomorrow.
Amherst 10.5 over Trinity
Williams 6.5 over Middlebury
Hope I'm wrong about both of these games, one more so than the other, but that's my heart speaking, not my head. I expect both games to be close at points, possibly late, with the favorites pulling away with foul shots.
Thoughts?

middhoops · February 26, 2014, 11:57:08 AM

GTR, your picks appear (again) to be right where they should be. Let's hope for upsets this week just to make life interesting.
The Ephs and LJs are going deep in the tourney regardless, so wouldn't it be nice (not asking the obvious people this...) if we had another NESCAC team go to the dance?

amh63 · February 26, 2014, 01:25:51 PM

Pick and Roll......to the best of my memory......not very good....tickets can be picked up at the door. Maybe at the schools playing ahead of time. Students with ID are free.....assuming it is for Amherst students. Do not expect there will be a clearing of the gym between games. Adult tickets run about 3 bucks. Other posters can offer their knowledge and corrections.

middhoops · February 26, 2014, 01:33:03 PM

Last week the Midd/Hamilton game was $6 and it must have been a NESCAC fee because normally they're free. Vandy is trying to figure out the ticket thing now. If anyone gets wind of the situation, please post.

AmherstHoops1 · February 26, 2014, 01:43:43 PM

Hey y'all

Willy Workman here (Amherst '13). I was, admittedly, a sporadic reader while at school and have become an avid one since graduation. Somehow it seems as if my love for NESCAC hoops has only grown since I turned it my jersey. I want to thank you all for your dedication to the boards as it's given me a way to stay in touch.

Although nescac1 has already announced it (he seems to always have the inside scoop), I just wanted to alert everyone that Ryan Sharry (Middlebury '12) and I will be having a live chat this Friday at noon eastern time. Topics will include D3 basketball, life as an overseas ball player, and the transition between the two. Of course we will be commenting on the NESCAC season thus far and the looming final weekend.

The platform we will be using is a new social media network called Tawkers. Tawkers (co-founded by my sister Rachael - who my father calls the best player in the family) allows two people to have a live text message conversation while an audience observers AND comments (you must sign up for Tawkers, free of charge - takes 20 seconds, to comment but anyone can observe). Audience members have the ability to "like" other comments which are highlighted for the hosts. The hosts then have the option of brining said comment into the conversation and responding.

While Ryan and I have identified a few topics to discuss we are hoping that most of the conversation will be dictated by the audience. This seemed like the best forum to recruit audience members knowledgeable about NESCAC hoops.

Again, the "Tawk" is scheduled for Friday at noon eastern time and I hope to "see" y'all there. In any case best of luck to all this teams this weekend with just a little more for my Jeffs.

Heres the link to the "Tawk:"

http://tawkers.com/tawk/ff808081-44557f2c-0144-5e8a7709-7b79.html

amh63 · February 26, 2014, 01:45:40 PM

Back again.....no news on the Amherst website at present. Checked last year's report......
It was 5 dollars at the door.....with students and kids going for 2 bucks. Amherst students with ID's were free. Guess the 6 dollars must account for rising costs.....refs/guards/help, etc. Normally games are free. Wonder if senior citizens can get a discount

Nothing wrt to advance ticket sales.

Old Guy · February 26, 2014, 01:57:40 PM

No way Midd is losing to Williams on a neutral court. Joey is instilling steel in all his teammates. The ghost of Nolan Thompson is in the gym. What a climax to The Road to Salem (so easy to parody - "potholes" on The Road to Salem, "detours" on The Road to Salem, "Road Closed," "You Can't Get There from Here" - the metaphor is irresistible). What great final chapters are yet to be written. Play hard, Panthers. Nuthin to lose. Have fun. Love your teammates.

Caught the first half of Part 6 - Amherst. Can't get the rest: it's hell trying to get video here. Saw an Old Guy, badly in need of a shave and a haircut.

TrinColl1: tell me about Coach Cosgrove. I have very limited limited knowledge of him, but his sideline behavior is hardly my cuppa tea. I figured he was a crazyman, hard to play for, guys quit because he's overbearing. But that's a first impression: I know I don't know anything about him. When I joined this Board, the big three was Williams, Amherst, and Trinity. FormerBant was a regular, with others from Trinity. Is Coach Cosgrove a guy student athletes at Trinity want to be led by? If these are unfair questions, too close to the bone, just ignore them. I'm used to it and the attention-span on this Board can be very short.

Old Guy · February 26, 2014, 02:19:54 PM

Hey y'all

Willy Workman here (Amherst '13). I was, admittedly, a sporadic reader while at school and have become an avid one since graduation. Somehow it seems as if my love for NESCAC hoops has only grown since I turned it my jersey. I want to thank you all for your dedication to the boards as it's given me a way to stay in touch.

Although nescac1 has already announced it (he seems to always have the inside scoop), I just wanted to alert everyone that Ryan Sharry (Middlebury '12) and I will be having a live chat this Friday at noon eastern time. Topics will include D3 basketball, life as an overseas ball player, and the transition between the two. Of course we will be commenting on the NESCAC season thus far and the looming final weekend.

The platform we will be using is a new social media network called Tawkers. Tawkers (co-founded by my sister Rachael - who my father calls the best player in the family) allows two people to have a live text message conversation while an audience observers AND comments (you must sign up for Tawkers, free of charge - takes 20 seconds, to comment but anyone can observe). Audience members have the ability to "like" other comments which are highlighted for the hosts. The hosts then have the option of brining said comment into the conversation and responding.

While Ryan and I have identified a few topics to discuss we are hoping that most of the conversation will be dictated by the audience. This seemed like the best forum to recruit audience members knowledgeable about NESCAC hoops.

Again, the "Tawk" is scheduled for Friday at noon eastern time and I hope to "see" y'all there. In any case best of luck to all this teams this weekend with just a little more for my Jeffs.

Heres the link to the "Tawk:"

http://tawkers.com/tawk/ff808081-44557f2c-0144-5e8a7709-7b79.html AmherstHoops1

Damn. Now I've got to like Willie Workman, destroyer of Panther dreams with miraculous three-point foul shots, sharing media-time with Ryan Sherry, my advisee, my student, the nicest person in the world? Sheesh. My irrational prejudices are all falling away. What can I believe in?

Last year, before the big 3OT game with the Jeffs, my college friend, Peter Montori (a hockey player!) told me to look up the Workmans at the game, friends of his, good people. I said, "Are you crazy? The Workmans, the enemy? No way."

Anecdote: before that game I saw an adult couple with Amherst t-shirts on. Being a friendly guy, I engaged them in conversation. I said, "do you have a son on the team?" They said, "Yes. Willie Workman." I said, "I can't talk to you, then." They were African-American, Alan Williamson's parents. We had a nice chat, another disillusioning moment.

I can't get video of the NESCAC games, I can't get The Road to Salem, I can't get Hoopsville, I can't get this Workman/Sharry production - this is the hardest part of my interesting life, far away from New England.

quicksilver · February 26, 2014, 02:21:41 PM

Quote from: amh63 on February 26, 2014, 01:45:40 PM
Back again.....no news on the Amherst website at present. Checked last year's report......
It was 5 dollars at the door.....with students and kids going for 2 bucks. Amherst students with ID's were free. Guess the 6 dollars must account for rising costs.....refs/guards/help, etc. Normally games are free. Wonder if senior citizens can get a discount Nothing wrt to advance ticket sales.

Apparently, the NESCAC requires all schools to charge for play-off games even when the school's normal practice is not to charge . . Not sure what the thinking is or whether any of the money is used to pay for officials . .