MBB: NESCAC

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin cruises to a 72-41 win over UMF.  Good overall play by the P'bears.  Don't have the stats but a big night for Hurley and Hausman.

Great way for the P'bears to enter the break after a rough week last week.

[Vandy74]

Sorry- typo in last post....".like shooting fish in a barrel" tonight for the the big Polar Bear.

FYI lumbercat,

You can fix typos even after you've posted the message.  You'll find a "modify" option over each of your posts where "quote" is located over everyone else's.  Click on that and you can make whatever repairs are necessary.  I'm speaking from experience here.

[lumbercat]

Thanks Vandy-you may have helped me out on that previously- sometimes in a rush but will keep in mind in future.

[magicman]

Sorry- typo in last post....".like shooting fish in a barrel" tonight for the the big Polar Bear.

FYI lumbercat,

You can fix typos even after you've posted the message.  You'll find a "modify" option over each of your posts where "quote" is located over everyone else's.  Click on that and you can make whatever repairs are necessary.  I'm speaking from experience here.

Is there an echo here on this board?

Thanks Vandy-you may have helped me out on that previously- sometimes in a rush but will keep in mind in future.

What am I chopped liver? This doesn't count?

Sorry- typo in last post....".like shooting fish in a barrel" tonight for the the big Polar Bear.

lumbercat,

If you make a typo in one of your posts all you need to do is hit the modify button in the upper right hand side of your post and the post can  now be corrected. Then hit the save button on the bottom right next to the preview button and you're all set. Much easier than doing another post and admitting you made an error. If you make the correction before 2 minutes has gone by, then the post looks normal. If you make the correction after 2 minutes has gone by, then the post will have a short statement at the bottom that will say..."last edit today at 8:46 by magicman" like it does at the bottom of my post.

I'm telling you I get no respect around here.

[lumbercat]

Thanks to you too Magic- didn't scan back to prior page- appreciate your help

[Vandy74]

Sorry- typo in last post....".like shooting fish in a barrel" tonight for the the big Polar Bear.

FYI lumbercat,

You can fix typos even after you've posted the message.  You'll find a "modify" option over each of your posts where "quote" is located over everyone else's.  Click on that and you can make whatever repairs are necessary.  I'm speaking from experience here.

Is there an echo here on this board?

Thanks Vandy-you may have helped me out on that previously- sometimes in a rush but will keep in mind in future.

What am I chopped liver? This doesn't count?

Sorry- typo in last post....".like shooting fish in a barrel" tonight for the the big Polar Bear.

lumbercat,

If you make a typo in one of your posts all you need to do is hit the modify button in the upper right hand side of your post and the post can  now be corrected. Then hit the save button on the bottom right next to the preview button and you're all set. Much easier than doing another post and admitting you made an error. If you make the correction before 2 minutes has gone by, then the post looks normal. If you make the correction after 2 minutes has gone by, then the post will have a short statement at the bottom that will say..."last edit today at 8:46 by magicman" like it does at the bottom of my post.

I'm telling you I get no respect around here.

I respect you magicman.  And I like you a helluva lot more than I like chopped liver.

[middhoops]

magicman, ever the coach. 
And, a heck of a good guy.

[magicman]

Aw shucks....thanks guys. My faith in humanity is restored.

[nescacobserver]

Hixon needs to take a serious look at the point guard situation.  His current starting point guard has a grand total of 1 assist in his last 60 minutes of play.  With him out there, there is no flow to the offense and most shots are more difficult than they need to be. The backup point guard is not as talented a scorer as the starter but is more of a ball distributor.  Hixon needs to decide which approach is going to lead to more success for the team.  Then again, he may just be waiting for Jan. 1 when Ray Barry gets his medical clearance.

[NEhoops]

Now that the semester is winding down I'd be interested in getting peoples thoughts on the top 5/10 teams in the region. I have included some info based (with updated records) on the last top 25 poll.

Top 25
#2 Amherst 5-2 (lost at home against unranked Brandeis and against #23 Babson)

#12 WPI 8-1 (lone loss was at a neutral site against Cabrini who has since dropped out of top 25, but is still receiving votes)

#13 Albertus Magnus 6-1 (lone loss was at #7 Richard Stockton)

#15 MIT 7-3 (lost at home against unranked UMass-Boston, at Rhode Island College – receiving votes and at Bridgewater St – unranked)

#19 Eastern CT 8-1 (lone loss was at Hartwick - unranked)

#23 Babson 8-1 (lone loss was at home against Bates – receiving votes)

Receiving votes:
Williams 7-2 (lost at home against unranked Southern VT and against unranked Oneonta St)

Bates 7-0

Keene St 7-0

Rhode Island College 7-3 (lost at Marymount – receiving votes, against #19 Eastern CT and at unranked Johnson and Wales)

Middlebury 7-0

Western CT 7-0

Bowdoin 6-3 (lost at #23 Babson, at Bates – receiving votes and against unranked Colby)

[Jumbo Fan]

I know they get a bad rap, especially in regards to coaching/underperforming with the expected talent, but the Jumbos really are better than their record. They went neck and neck with MIT, Brandeis and Babson (all away games) and we know what the latter two teams both did in Amherst. 

[nescac1]

Big, literally and figuratively, recruit for Amherst -- 6'10 C Joe Schneider, who plays for a big-time high school program and is ranked in the top 25 (!) prospects in New England.  Supposedly he had interest from Notre Dame, Northwestern, Harvard, among others.  To give some sense of what a top-25 ranking means, Duncan Robinson, who is the highest ranked New England recruit that I can recall attending a NESCAC school, was ranked 50th.  Amherst is going to be stocked, really, overstocked on the interior for a LONG time between Schneider, George, Conklin, and Nabatoff all around for several more years.  Heck, Schneider will likely have to be a bench guy behind George for two years ... a pretty nice luxury to have.   

I think Amherst's most effective lineup in the short-run may be Berman, Dawson, McCarthy, Green and George, with Nabatoff as the sixth man.  I can see why Hixon wants to go with the two bigs though because he has so much talent at the big man position with, obviously, even more coming down the pike; at some point, that will create mismatches but right now it seems to be creating as many problems for Amherst as it does for smaller opposing teams.  The problem in the short run is that, especially without a true point guard out there, there is going to continue to be problems with spacing and ball movement.  Amherst really misses a healthy Pollack, who is by far their best passer from the high post.  George and Nabatoff are bigger and more athletic but don't have that skill set to get other guys involved.  Add in McCarthy Dawson and Green, who all seem to have shoot-first-mentalities, and that is a lot of shooters for only one ball. 

I know folks are saying Ray Barry is the answer but he hasn't played meaningful minutes in an actual basketball game in, what, three years?  No matter how good he is, that's a lot of rust.  Dawson is incredibly talented, obviously, but if Hixon wants to go with two bigs, perhaps his best option is to start Berman to feed the ball to the other four scorers in the starting lineup, and play Dawson big minutes as an instant-offense combo-guard off the bench.  I would not be surprised to see him make that switch in the second semester.  The biggest mystery for Amherst has been Connor Green's drop off in production across the board.  Not getting the ball in ideal scoring position is clearly hurting his production to some degree, but he is still talented enough to take entire games over on his own, which has yet to happen ...

Jumbo Fan, I have no doubt that Tufts is better than its record.  But it seems like we say that almost EVERY year.  One thing I really question is why Sheldon always loads up his first semester with so many brutal out-of-conference games.  Doesn't give the team much of a chance to build a rhythm and confidence, and this year, as in past years, Tufts already is in a position where they have to earn NESCAC's automatic bid if they hope to play in the NCAA's.  Tufts is another team, like Amherst, that seems to have plenty of guys who can score the ball, especially on the interior, but perhaps lacks guys who are getting those guys the ball in ideal scoring position. 

[amh63]

See posters have been giving Magicman a group hug!  He needs it...working hard moving snow around.  Me, watching some football...Army-Navy game.  Even watched the UNC- Kentucky BB game abit.  Calipari is still figuring it out wrt to his talent heavy team.  Seems his second team backcourt is playing better than his first team...the Harrison twins.  Remember when he was HBC at UMass. Seems the owners of his favorite Italian restaurant liked both him and my oldest son.  I never got a discount though.
Nescac1 ...sure you are not a recruiter?  Thanks...thought Amherst stopped recruiting.  Must have found out about Williams' incoming big man.  The arm race continues .
Exams start Monday at Amherst.  Never know  what that means these days in college with all those new courses available.
P'bear...glad to hear that Polar Bears are returning to form.  Any news on the recruiting side.  Your team does have a short bench even before the injuries.

[amh63]

Back again with some info.  On NERR, Jack Simonds of Falmouth Maine will attend Bowdoin in the Fall. The highly ranked Maine player was accepted ED...smart kid.  He is a 6'5" Forward.
MIT lost today to Bridgewater State..that is two in a row...exams on. The players mind?  The earllier one at RIC was not even close.
Am really impressed with Nescac1's contacts.  On NERR, Amherst's recruit is still listed Un committed, and as a PF.  A Longmeadow, Ma native ..near Springfield, just tweeted 11 hours ago that he is proud to be a Lord Jeff.  A little lean presently for his height of 6'10" at 225 lbs. 

[P'bearfan]

The biggest mystery for Amherst has been Connor Green's drop off in production across the board.

There may be many factors at play here but one is certainly the fact that last year Amherst has 4 high percentage 3 point shooters that defenses had to account for.  This year Green is the only proven shooter so he may be getting a whole lot of attention from opposing defenses.   Also it sounds like the LJ's ball movement isn't what was last year so there may be fewer open looks.