MBB: NESCAC

[madzillagd]

Ed Flynn has to play minutes to guard Palleschi or this game is over.   He went 2-4 against Flynn, he went 9-10 against Kilcullen/Sime. Greenman/Teal/Galvin are now at 98 combined minutes this weekend without scoring a single point.  Can't win games with only 3 guys scoring. 

[nescac1]

Phew.  Badly, badly needed win for Williams.

Missed the Palleschi show in the first half, but Williams played 19 excellent minutes of basketball in the second half to turn a 5 point deficit into a 10 point lead.  The Ephs kind of fell apart in the last minute, and Tufts turned a ten point deficit with one minute left to a wide open three point shot with a chance to tie for Tarik Smith with ten seconds left, but fortunately for the Ephs Smith missed.  Two straight steals-and-scores for Tufts certainly put the Eph fan heart in the throats, and there were a few mistakes down the stretch (one that drives me crazy is allowing the opposing PG to roll the ball 3/4 of the way up the court, saving 5-6 seconds when time is critical) by the Ephs to make it competitive -- and how Smith EVER got so wide open in that situation is beyond me.

The other 19 minutes of the half, the Ephs played GREAT basketball on both ends.  The Ephs played very good defense across the board.  Williams swarmed all over Palleschi, and dared anyone else to beat them, and no one else could do so consistently.  Palleschi had not a single easy look that half, which was great to see.  Once again, it was the Wohl and Rooke-Ley show on offense for Williams ... I really believe both those guys are first-team all-NESCAC players (Rooke-Ley probably second team just due to time missed), despite Williams' mediocre record -- they have carried the entire team to an incredible degree, and did all weekend.  Daniel Wohl clearly enjoyed not having the Delpeche brothers clogging the lane, and was far more effective today, putting another notch on his NESCAC POY resume: 31 points, 13 boards, 3 blocks, 5-8 from three, he was enormous.  Rooke-Ley helped out in a huge way with 21 points, 10 boards, 3 assists, and iced the game from the free throw line, where he was 10-10.  Kilcullen and Aronowitz were the complementary scorers, and both continue to play very well offensively, although Williams could use a bit more board work than either gave them this weekend -- those are two frontcourt starters and they need to get around 14-15 boards combined, too much pressure on Wohl right now to clean the glass.   Another very, very quiet game for the Eph bench, which simply needs to contribute more scoring going forward.

The Ephs clearly have two elite players who can score on anyone.  And on every possession, they will be the best option to score.  But at the same time, Williams needs to get more guys involved.  A lot of guys out there seemed to not to even be looking to score.  1-8, the rotation guys need to be a bit more aggressive looking for their shots, because Williams needed herculean efforts from the big two this weekend merely to earn a split.  Still, those two guys are playing at an incredibly high level right now, which is remarkable considering that they were the 4th and 5th options on last year's team! 

Huge win for the Ephs who now own the tie-breaker over Tufts, Colby, Amherst, and Midd, which could end up proving to be a very big deal as the NESCAC middle of the pack sorts itself out.  Now the Ephs need to take care of business next weekend. 

[nescac1]

I feel pretty confident at this point that the ten likely all NESCAC guys are, in no particular order, Wohl, Rooke-Ley, Hausman, Green, Lin, Safford, Sinnickson, Starks, Westman and Palleschi.  Sabety definitely did not play enough games to qualify.  Hudnut only played three conference games, which is probably not enough.  BJ Davis might earn some consideration with a few more big games.   Meanwhile, I can't believe how little offensive impact John Swords has had in conference play.  He should be scoring 16-18 in his sleep this year in NESCAC.  He is still enough of a defensive presence that he could edge out Palleschi or Westman for one of the last few spots.   Hard to think of any other deserving candidates, really ... incredible how well Palleschi has rebounded from missing a season due to open-heart surgery, what a warrior.

McCarthy is already a lock for ROY, and it will be really, really tough for anyone to knock off Wohl as POY -- would take a monster NESCAC tourney performance from Hausman, Safford, Sinnickson or Green.  I'm convinced after this weekend that Safford is a first-teamer over Lin. 

[AmherstStudent05]

Congratulations to Trinity on securing the regular season NESCAC "championship."  The Bantams will be hosting their first NESCAC Tournament since 2002 (assuming they win their quarterfinal matchup as all previous #1 seeds have done before them).

Too bad we don't have any Trinity posters on here anymore. 

[amh63]

Amherst led by Conner Green with 26 points beats the Cardinals by 18 points on Senior day in Middletown.  Amherst had a big lead in the first half fade to only 2 points at the half...32 to 30.  Green had at least 13 in the first half.  Racy, Dawson contributes in the second half.  Amherst holds service in Connecticut this weekend.....two games remain in regular season....only away game in Pepin remain in conference.

[AmherstStudent05]

I feel pretty confident at this point that the ten likely all NESCAC guys are, in no particular order, Wohl, Rooke-Ley, Hausman, Green, Lin, Safford, Sinnickson, Starks, Westman and Palleschi.  Sabety definitely did not play enough games to qualify.  Hudnut only played three conference games, which is probably not enough.  BJ Davis might earn some consideration with a few more big games.   Meanwhile, I can't believe how little offensive impact John Swords has had in conference play.  He should be scoring 16-18 in his sleep this year in NESCAC.  He is still enough of a defensive presence that he could edge out Palleschi or Westman for one of the last few spots.   Hard to think of any other deserving candidates, really ... incredible how well Palleschi has rebounded from missing a season due to open-heart surgery, what a warrior.

McCarthy is already a lock for ROY, and it will be really, really tough for anyone to knock off Wohl as POY -- would take a monster NESCAC tourney performance from Hausman, Safford, Sinnickson or Green.  I'm convinced after this weekend that Safford is a first-teamer over Lin.

Good stuff.  We still obviously have tomorrow's Bowdoin-Midd game, another week of NESCAC action, then the Conference Tourney, so still a long ways to go.  But, I thought I might add my thoughts about how I might go about filling out a ballot if one needed to be submitted today (and if I actually ever got a ballot to fill out).

First, as I have said previously, I would not vote any player to an all conference team whose own team does not qualify for the postseason.  I know not everyone has this view (see Matt Vadas last year), but I can't imagine I am alone on this either.  Accordingly, I would not consider Lin for a spot.  Lin also seems to have cooled off a bit recently.  Was he hurt today early on against the Bobcats?

As I have also said, while I do not believe that the best team should necessarily get the PoY or the most all conference spots, I do believe in a soft version of the "to the victors go the spoils" approach.  I think clear success should be rewarded.  In this case, I think Trinity has done enough to qualify for such recognition (subject to what might happen if they were to lose to both Midd and then to the #8 seed in the NESCAC tournament). 

Accommodating Trin appears to be problematic though.  When I raised this point earlier in the season, nescac1 replied that he thought that there would be a convergence at the top that would negate the need to "reward" the team that might technically finish "first" in the regular season.  I thought that was a good and fair point.  But I don't think that has quite happened.  Trinity has, at least for now, put together a particularly strong regular season that I think should be reflected in all conference awards.  But how?

My natural first team would be: Wohl (PoY), Hausman, Green, Safford, and Sinnickson.

My second team would be: Starks, Boornazian, Palleschi, Westman and then I struggle a bit but maybe Smith (with an eye on HRL if he stays healthy and productive and if Williams finishes strong here).

But something about this doesn't seem right from a Trinity perspective.  I would think they need at least one first teamer, even if I am not sure the production necessarily justifies it.  Also, I would love to at least give them another second teamer, but who? Ogundeko?  Not so sure.  If I had to put Starks on the first team, which I would be strongly tempted to do, I guess I would take Sinnickson off, but that doesn't seem all that fair to him either.

I don't know.  Still a lot of ball to be played.  Hopefully that will sort things out.

Also, DPOY is just impossible for me to assess.  I just have watched so little of Trin and there are no Trin posters here to help me out.  I would love to give it to a Bantam, but, honestly, I would be flying blind.

Obviously I agree that JMac should win RoY going away.

[crls]

Ryan Jann has been playing very well.  Colby is figuring out how to play and win without Hudnut.

[MENESCACFAN]

Bates pulls out a nail biter, 73-71 over Hamilton.  The atmosphere in Alumni Gym is electric of late and Bates are 12-0 at home, I would guess they are heading towards a playoff game there also.

Furbush started some backups I guessing due to senior day?  Seemed a bold move but they just keep winning.  Boornazian came off the bench but was fantastic start to finish and outplayed Safford today.  Lin hurt his knee in the first half and was a non-event for the whole game.  Jack Dwyer the best player for Hamilton and took some baiting from the crowd for his resemblance to Sunshine of Remember the Titans fame!

[nescac1]

AmherstStudent05, I agree 100 percent with your first team and I think it would take a massive effort to unseat any of those guys at this point.  Obviously, Hudnut and Sabety's injuries, and to a lesser extent Rooke-Ley's, are a factor in those other five guys being the top dogs right now.  Boornazian always seems to play really well vs. Williams, and I should not have omitted him from the guys under second-team consideration, but I definitely put him behind Lin (who has been awesome all season long, some really huge stats and he is by far the top guy on his team) as well as Rooke-Ley, who has been so dynamic when he's been on the court and has been truly dominant in his four conference games: 22.5-5.8-2.0, with crazy-good shooting: 53/58/51, nailing five threes per game in conference play!  Granted, Williams is 2-2 both with and without him in conference play, but he was the best Eph on the court in Williams' two NESCAC losses in which he played, so can't really punish him for that.  Obviously he takes a bit of a hit from all the games he missed, but to me, that means a demotion from first team to second.  If he keeps playing this well, and Williams can win a few games in the NESCAC tourney, he has a legitimate argument for consideration for first team.  But yeah, hard to put two guys on the first team if Williams finishes as a middle of the pack team, even if I really believe they are two of the top five players in NESCAC right now (a very, very scary thought for Williams fans contemplating next season). 

As for the Trinity question, I agree they need to have someone, and Starks deserves to be that guy, but I can't see how you can put two players from Trinity on an all-NESCAC squad.  They win because they have waves of good players, play ferociously as a unit on defense and the boards, and they are really deep, but as a result, other than Starks, they don't need any other particular player to play well to win, and no one has produced consistent numbers for them in NESCAC action other than Starks -- Ajay is probably their second best guy, but his stats in conference play pale in comparison to other contenders (7.6-5.4-1.3, 31 percent shooting). 

[WPI89]

Dave/Pat - will post here because of volume.  D3hoops.com is essentially broken.  Can't get in at all half the time and a looong delay when I eventually get in. Hope there is an easy fix?

[nescacobserver]

Is Hausman being put on the first team just because of his scoring? I believe that guys that make first team all conference should rank high statistically in at least two categories, to display that they are well - rounded players.  Guys like Wohl, Green, and Sinnickson can both score AND rebound.  Besides scoring what other category does Hausman rank highly in?  Is he really one of the 5 best all-around players in the Nescac?

[AmherstStudent05]

Is Hausman being put on the first team just because of his scoring? I believe that guys that make first team all conference should rank high statistically in at least two categories, to display that they are well - rounded players.  Guys like Wohl, Green, and Sinnickson can both score AND rebound.  Besides scoring what other category does Hausman rank highly in?  Is he really one of the 5 best all-around players in the Nescac?

This is a fair point.  For me, the fact that Hausman is relatively one-dimensional does really hurt him as far as PoY consideration goes.  However, the fact that is scoring numbers are so strong makes it very hard for me to see how he can be left off of the First Team.  Also, particularly since Pieri went down, he faces significant pressure to carry Bowdoin's offense.  Hurley can help, but it is really up to Hausman. And, this year, time after time, he has delivered. 

[Old Guy]

I watched the first half last night of Midd-Colby and then turned to Bates-Wms after Midd gave up 48 first-half points to the Hudnut-less Mules. Terrific game. Bates crowd really into it (I could do without the "Bullsh*t, Bullsh*t" chants when a call doesn't go their way). I watched the last two minutes of the Panther-Mule game. Panthers have a mountain to climb with Bowdoin-Trinity-Amherst between them and the tourney.

Today I shuttled between Bates-Hamilton and Amherst-Wesleyan/Tufts-Williams games today till I lost the Tufts feed. Bates-Hamilton was a terrific game, with the Continentals up five with a minute and a half to go. They got no help up three with the ball and a minute-ten left - and Dwyer was called for a carry: he was not being pressured and made a simple cross-over dribble - wicked cheap call. Poorly officiated game (and I didn't have a dog in the fight) - the refs let nothing go and it was not a particularly chippy game. Bates corresponded with a three point play underneath by Boornazian, as I recall. Hamilton was very game, with Lin not playing in the second half due to injury. It was hard to believe throughout that Bates would lose this one, but it was close. Packed house, wild atmosphere, I expected Hamilton to fold, but they didn't. They could be pretty good next year.

I shouldn't care about this stuff, I know: Bates announcers, kids, into lots of partisan commentaries on the officiating, and some giggling; Tufts also no great shakes. Wesleyan has a real announcer, refreshing. The video of the Bates games is very intimate because the camera is so close to the floor. Colby's camera-guy needs to ask those in front of the camera to sit down - lots of heads obscuring the action on the floor.

Still, to throw a NESCAC game up on the TV screen is a real thrill.

[7express]

Congratulations to Trinity on securing the regular season NESCAC "championship."  The Bantams will be hosting their first NESCAC Tournament since 2002 (assuming they win their quarterfinal matchup as all previous #1 seeds have done before them).

Too bad we don't have any Trinity posters on here anymore.

I know there's still a weekend and a game to go, but who's looking like the #2 seed in case the 1 does go down??  IIRC, the Tufts women lost as the 1 seed to Bowdoin a couple years back (2012 I think??) of course that Bowdoin team really wasn't an 8 seed either.  They were more a 3 or 4 seed but injuries derailed there season, but all got healthy at the end to beat Tufts.  So even though it hasn't happened on the men's side yet, it has happened on the women's side.

[ronk]

Congratulations to Trinity on securing the regular season NESCAC "championship."  The Bantams will be hosting their first NESCAC Tournament since 2002 (assuming they win their quarterfinal matchup as all previous #1 seeds have done before them).

Too bad we don't have any Trinity posters on here anymore.

I imagine Gordon Mann will be showing up sooner or later.