MBB: NESCAC

[grabtherim]

Sobering but inspiring article on Graham Safford:  http://bangordailynews.com/2014/12/25/sports/bates-college-senior-finds-inspiration-hope-through-christmas-tragedy/

Tough kid on the floor.  Sobering story.  Over and over again, this league has back stories of kids with real character.  So many to be proud of. 

[Maxpreps]

Question on recruiting - for Nescac or any other d3 program- is it too late if my son has not picked a school yet or are schools still looking ?  I see a lot of posts of kids that have gone ED. I know  the nescac does alot of ED , but wondering if there is still time.  For instance, would a clip of his first six or seven games be of interest to a coach or would it be a waste of time.  Thanks in advance. 

[Old Guy]

Question on recruiting - for Nescac or any other d3 program- is it too late if my son has not picked a school yet or are schools still looking ?  I see a lot of posts of kids that have gone ED. I know  the nescac does alot of ED , but wondering if there is still time.  For instance, would a clip of his first six or seven games be of interest to a coach or would it be a waste of time.  Thanks in advance.

I suspect others will give you more knowledgeable and extended replies. It's pretty late - most (all?) NESCAC schools have a Jan 1 application deadline, right? There have been many terrific NESCAC players who were not ED admits. A couple of my favorite Panthers who arrived without great fanfare were Tim Edwards (defensive POY, maybe twice) who was a mid-year (Feb) admit, and Nolan Thompson (first team All-NESCAC, also DPOY) who was unrecruited. Every NESCAC school has its favorite "walk-on" player and story. My common-sense suggestion is that he should meet the application deadlines, then send the clips - therefore, not to late. Others?

[Vandy74]

Question on recruiting - for Nescac or any other d3 program- is it too late if my son has not picked a school yet or are schools still looking ?  I see a lot of posts of kids that have gone ED. I know  the nescac does alot of ED , but wondering if there is still time.  For instance, would a clip of his first six or seven games be of interest to a coach or would it be a waste of time.  Thanks in advance.

I suspect others will give you more knowledgeable and extended replies. It's pretty late - most (all?) NESCAC schools have a Jan 1 application deadline, right? There have been many terrific NESCAC players who were not ED admits. A couple of my favorite Panthers who arrived without great fanfare were Tim Edwards (defensive POY, maybe twice) who was a mid-year (Feb) admit, and Nolan Thompson (first team All-NESCAC, also DPOY) who was unrecruited. Every NESCAC school has its favorite "walk-on" player and story. My common-sense suggestion is that he should meet the application deadlines, then send the clips - therefore, not to late. Others?

Middhoops and I were at a favorite watering hole this afternoon discussing basketball related matters.  He is of the opinion that Middlebury is one body short of what would be the desired incoming class of '19.   As a meaningless bowl game played out on the TV screen over the bar we counted the minutes before D3 basketball resumes.  I happened to bring up something I had noticed a while back but never discussed.  He agreed with me.  We both were present at the Middlebury-St. Joseph game a few weeks ago.   The Panthers won handily as they should have and not much was reported on the board about it.  But missing from the stats are two Chris Churchill blocked shots.  He did it.  We both saw him do it.  Give the man his numbers.  Is it January 2 yet?

[ronk]

Question on recruiting - for Nescac or any other d3 program- is it too late if my son has not picked a school yet or are schools still looking ?  I see a lot of posts of kids that have gone ED. I know  the nescac does alot of ED , but wondering if there is still time.  For instance, would a clip of his first six or seven games be of interest to a coach or would it be a waste of time.  Thanks in advance.

Not too late; many D3 prospects don't decide until they see the packages from the  financial aid offices. Some schools may be satisfied with their commits presently, but even those can be affected by late scholarship offers from lower D1 or D2s. Your son's options might decrease with time, especially for limited-seat majors, but I've seen St. Mary's Coach Harney(an NCAA tourney team a number of times) at a high school all-star game in late March. Now, he might have been showing interest in one of his top prospects, but he also would be looking at those that he might not have seen previously against good competition.
  Bottom line-if he's got the academic qualifications and the bball ability, send the clips.

[Buzzerbeater]

Maxpreps,
At this point your son needs to blanket all of the schools he is interested in with Applications, by Regular decision, Cover all the bases. Many D3 slots are still open as coaches tend to hold open spots for players who they feel may not get into a D1 or D2 team They also have ED recruits refuse due to the lack of FA package so it is not too late. . You and your son need to be realists about his academic and basketball ability as the NESCAC teams  are serious about both. A good basketball question to ask is he currently an all league playrer in high school as the bar in the NESCAC is set very high.

[Maxpreps]

Thank you for the responses. Yes, he is first team all league both soph and jr years.  2nd team all area.  He played some of the spring ( was hurt) and the summer with a NY aau team and did well.  He didnt start thou and was not high scorer at all like on his high school team.  He was a role player on Aau team , which is fine.  He has been in contact with some schools and has options, but was not asked to do ED at any of them. He is a good student and is applying to 3 or 4 nescac schools.  We will hit them with tapes   I guess its worth a shot. Thanks again.   Another note, the response from coaches has been horrible   Wheter it be nescac , centinnenial or the liberty. My son or his coach would reach out and not hear anything.  Finally, he would get response weeks later. Maybe they are just busy, have no interest or just don't care but was odd.  At the end of the day, i think i should have been more proactive in the process. 

[amh63]

First part of the holidays has passed!  Have started to prepare myself for D3 games again .  Amherst at Drew on Tues......plan to watch the LJs at Goucher live on Friday.  Been watching some Div 1 games...only the ones with legendary coaches....saw the Un. Of Wisconsin-Madison game the other night..against Stanford?...with the ex Duke assist.  Bill Walton was giving his  unique comments!  Made a comment that the game was moving fast...great play with little stoppage due to fouls, etc.  He commented on the play of Wisconsin...getting rebounds without jumping,  making stops without fouls...were some of his like able comments. 
Also have been scanning the CAC school websites...surprising how " blind" I am to some things.  Found out that Bowdoin's school color is "white"!!  No mention of Black! 
Saw the announcement of Colby's new AD....did not know the school was searching for an AD.  Was the associate AD of Harvard.
Saw some announced numbers of EDs at Amherst and Williams.  Was surprised at the size of the numbers...more so for Amherst.  Maybe the mark of the the new Admission Dean for Amherst.  I point this out in that both schools only have ED1...while some of the other CAC schools have another ED period...ED2 , I believe.  Tried to check the numbers again but no longer available.  Why...it seems that Williams and Amherst numbers were well over 50 percentage of the class size.  Amherst usual numbers of EDs are less than 30 percent..capped.
Vandy74...who controls the " official" stats of the game played?  Make an appeal if it is Middlebury.

[Old Guy]

Saw some announced numbers of EDs at Amherst and Williams.  Was surprised at the size of the numbers...more so for Amherst.  Maybe the mark of the the new Admission Dean for Amherst.  I point this out in that both schools only have ED1...while some of the other CAC schools have another ED period...ED2 , I believe.  Tried to check the numbers again but no longer available.  Why...it seems that Williams and Amherst numbers were well over 50 percentage of the class size.  Amherst usual numbers of EDs are less than 30 percent..capped.

Highly selective colleges could admit a higher percentage of ED candidates than they do. There is of course an advantage to colleges in admitting ED students - they're actually going to enroll, no guessing game, no worry about "yield." Yet there is a worry about fairness, forcing students to select one school when they may be interested in a variety of schools and would like to see what their options are. Also ED is thought to favor the sophisticated applicant who benefits from highly organized and supportive college guidance operation (prep schools, high schools in affluent communities, college guidance consultants). Variable financial aid awards are also crucial to choice. There was a backlash against high ED numbers at selective schools a few years ago and numbers were cut back.

A quick look at Amherst's ED numbers indicate they selected 169 candidates. Student enrollment at Amherst is about 1800, making class size about 450. That would make their ED % about 38%, right? Closer to a third than a half, but still pretty high. http://amherststudent.amherst.edu/?q=article/2014/02/12/169-admitted-under-early-decision

[nescac1]

Old Guy, those numbers were from last year's ED group at Amherst; not sure where amh63 saw this year's numbers, but sounds like perhaps they were higher?  Amherst didn't issue any sort of press release or anything so far as I can see.

Williams typically takes a bit over 40 percent of the class ED ... this year was slightly larger than usual (44 percent).  They've never been over 45 percent, though.  Remember that the majority of highly recruited athletes at NESCAC schools apply via the ED round, and these kids are on a different admissions track, essentially, than other students.  There are a MUCH higher percentage of athletes in the ED round at Williams/Amherst, I know, than in the RD acceptance pool.  Schools also admit some other targeted groups ED -- for example, Williams takes around a dozen Questbridge students ED most years.  At least part of the move towards ED is explained by the need to lock down certain types of students -- particularly athletes -- early; if schools don't commit early, they risk losing those guys to other schools (NESCAC or non-NESCAC) who will.  But outside of the Questbridge outlier, you are absolutely correct that ED favors sophisticated applicants as well as applicants who don't need to worry about financial aid. 

[amh63]

Sorry to sidetrack the board wrt to ED info.  Responses......
OG...your math is better than mine!  Yes, I remember that ED numbers to be well under 200, with the enrollment at Amherst to hover around 1800 or slightly lower.
The numbers I saw appeared on the front pages of the Williams and Amherst websites about a week or less ago...time when ED acceptances were sent out.  I recall numbers of 400 plus for Williams and 300 plus for Amherst!  Then again, I may have been still "drugged" from my sinus infection pills .
I also saw Colby ED1 numbers of 189....and they are still available.....whereas Amherst and Williams numbers are not now available to me for verification on the websites. 
In any case....for Amherst....I believe there has been only one ED MBB recruit...no more room on the bench so to speak...since there is only one senior listed now on the team.  There is of course possible "walk ons".
Nescac1 comments wrt to other targeted groups was most helpful since Amherst is working hard in the same areas.  Even featured an article on native American recruiting.  This may explain the increased numbers. 
The Amherst Prez recently returned from a trip to Asia where she was building relationships...for student and faculty exchanges, etc.   Wonder if there are some talented BB players available?
I best end this rambling post.
In my viewing of Div 1 BB games, it is surprising how many top teams have FY players playing significant roles...Duke, Kansas, and even UConn WBB.  The club teams are having an impact in all sports now!!

[nescac1]

Two huge games for NESCAC squads tomorrow, as Bates and Williams will have the opportunity to make statements that they belong in the top 25 with games vs. top 11 teams.  If Bates can beat number seven Emory, adding that to the win over number 17 Babson, they should skyrocket up the rankings. 

Williams vs. WPI will be the classic clash of styles.  Both teams are smallish, and neither has much of an inside game, but WPI likes to grind out low scoring games with tough defense, and Williams is far more comfortable pushing the pace in more of a shoot-out.  Other than in its overtime game (artificially inflated score), WPI has yet to give up more than 68 points this year, but has struggled to score the ball, failing to score over 75.  The Ephs, on the other hand, are averaging 80 points per game despite a rough start to the season on offense, but have given up over 68 seven times. If Williams can crack 75 vs. WPI's stingy defense, I really like their chances, as WPI doesn't appear to have the firepower to hang with the Ephs in a shoot-out.  If WPI manages to grind the pace down to more of a half-court battle, that won't serve the Ephs well.  If the pace is slow, the Ephs will really need to value possession and avoid turnovers, something that is really challenging given that there is bound to be rust after a three-week layoff. 

In terms of common opponents, Williams beat RPI and MCLA by a combined 28, and WPI beat the same two teams by a combined 24, albeit in slower-paced affairs.  This is the rare game where the Ephs have a size advantage, and since it does not seem like WPI looks to run that much, it might behoove the Ephs to try to crash the offensive boards a bit more aggressively than they typically do.  The Ephs definitely have a stronger starting unit, but WPI has a deeper, more productive bench.  So, on paper, these teams look totally even, and the game should be a toss-up. 

Emory's top player by far is a very skilled, experienced 6'8 center with perimeter skills.  If the Delpeches can use their length and athleticism to make his life difficult and keep him a few points below his season average, I think Bates will pull off the upset. 

[Vandy74]

Two huge games for NESCAC squads tomorrow, as Bates and Williams will have the opportunity to make statements that they belong in the top 25 with games vs. top 11 teams.  If Bates can beat number seven Emory, adding that to the win over number 17 Babson, they should skyrocket up the rankings. 

It's too bad we can't watch both games although I should catch a half of the second one.  I'm not much for switching back and forth between the two.  Should Bates beat Emory, which I also believe they are very capable of doing, it's important not to have a letdown against Union (who I assume will handle Birmingham Southern).  Emory is the other school that accepted my application oh so many years ago but my rooting loyalties tomorrow will be NESCAC.  Go Bobcats!  Go Ephs!

[Vandy74]

 

Vandy74...who controls the " official" stats of the game played?  Make an appeal if it is Middlebury.

Amh63....sorry to hear about your sinus infection.  I'm dealing with a similar problem myself.  The game was played at St Joe's.  I have no idea if Middlebury kept their own stats but it's so past tense now I doubt anything will be done about it.  I'm pretty sure I recognize a blocked shot when I see one and Middhoops agrees with me on this.  Not always the case btw.  The 7-0 record is what's important of course, along with the team's continued health and success.  It just puzzles me how such a stat could be missed twice but if you heard all the different ways their announcer pronounced Sinnickson, as well as a few others, it's probably not surprising.  It will be good to have some hoop to watch tomorrow.

[Old Guy]

Old Guy, those numbers were from last year's ED group at Amherst; not sure where amh63 saw this year's numbers, but sounds like perhaps they were higher?  Amherst didn't issue any sort of press release or anything so far as I can see.

As Roseanne Rosannadanna used to say, "never mind." Sorry (look at the date of the piece, Bozo!).

I am apprehensive because Young Girl2 is a senior in high school and is applying (ambitiously) through normal, not ED, channels, and it concerns me that so many positions are already locked up.

Still, I'd be interested to know the play of what other NESCAC stalwarts came as a surprise. I offered Edwards and Thompson from Middlebury. Are there others - or has the recruitment, even at the D3 level, become so sophisticated that the "walk-on" (a term we didn't even use not that long ago) is a thing of the past?