MBB: NESCAC

TheHerst2and4 · September 10, 2015, 11:39:40 AM

Amherst released a hype video for the upcoming season. Brings back some great memories and enough highlights from the current squad to have Lord Jeff fans excited for the upcoming season https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCHz5oT-rAM

amh63 · September 10, 2015, 04:23:34 PM

TheHerst2and4.....right on! Plus K. Seems the school is putting out such hype videos lately...the other in Football. Is it through the SID or independent effort?
Anyway, remember being on the floor with your Dad in '07. Remember also your efforts on the floor! See that you are watching my back....see football board.

P'bearfan · September 14, 2015, 08:13:23 AM

A quick Polar Bear alumni update....Will Hanley signed a deal to play with CB Canarias! Last season he averaged 8.9 ppg and 5.7 rpg. Best of luck in the upcoming season.

http://www.eurobasket.com/.../41.../CB-Canarias-land-Will-Hanley

nescac1 · September 14, 2015, 08:17:24 AM

I'm not sure if he will go out for the team, but it would certainly make the crowds at games more interesting if he did (and made the roster!):

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/basketball/raptors-gm-brings-hope-to-a-continent-with-giants-ofafrica/article26336168/?service=mobile

The most notable person here – both in terms of pedigree and perhaps ability – is Ian Kagame, 19-year-old son of the Rwandan president.

He's a rangy, charming young man. He's been educated at a northeastern U.S. prep school, and speaks in perfect American idiom. For him, basketball is a bit of fun. He has rather larger ambitions.

"I might try to walk on to my college team. I'm not sure," he says, shrugging. He will compete at high-jump and long-jump. He's bound for Williams College in Massachusetts. You may not have heard of it, but it's a place where the truly powerful are educated.

On the first day, Kagame is easy to pick out for a bunch of reasons. First, he shows up in an armed motorcade. There are bodyguards at every point of egress.

ContinentalDomer · September 14, 2015, 01:02:00 PM

Hamilton posted its schedule for 2015-16 . . . a late December trip to Phoenix for a meeting with the defending national champs should be interesting.

http://www.hamilton.edu/athletics/mens-basketball/schedule-results

middhoops · September 14, 2015, 03:53:03 PM

Nice post, nescac1.
"but it's a place where the truly powerful are educated."
Et tu, amh63?

amh63 · September 14, 2015, 04:51:47 PM

Midhoops...do not fully understand your post....am I Brutus?
The young man should enjoy his time in Willytown.....whether he try out for the team or sticks with track. Not my cup of tea entrance for Orientation if I understand nescac1's post.
In my days at Amherst, it would benefit a freshman to arrive in a quiet way. As I posted on another board....a student is judged by his/her actions and not on their parents/guardians.
A few more bits and pieces of BB info coming out of Amherst. On Sunday, Amherst's HBC Hixon had his second Elite Camp....one day workout/evaluation of HS juniors and seniors. Also, on the 17th of the month, the BB team will be involved in a town festival....having a shooting exhibit, etc. The WBB team has done something like it. College likes students to get involved in their "larger community".
The 2015 Hype film mentioned in a previous post...my take....Coach Hixon thinks he has a team that can meet the challenge/goal in the video. It may raise the "blood" of several CAC schools!

amh63 · September 17, 2015, 02:02:13 PM

Amherst athletic website has a write up of two new assistant coaches. Finally a pic of the assistant from Wash.&Lee Un. And the return of coach Hopkins'08. Both assistants were front court players and should be most helpful with the big front court players expected this season.

Bucket · September 17, 2015, 03:51:18 PM

One of my most trusted sources

tells me that a team consisting of Jake Wolfin, Jamal Davis, Nolan Thompson, Tim Edwards, Troy Whittington, Joey Kizel, and Ben Rudin is tearing up a NYC Fall Hoops League. And rumor has it that James Wang will be joining the squad for a guest appearance next week.

Would be fun to watch!

amh63 · September 18, 2015, 10:20:42 AM

Coach Hixon has posted his annual pre season letter on the Amherst BB website. Info to be noted are the four new players expected to join the team...all freshmen....two guards and two forwards. Believe one guard maybe a PG from Florida. Surprised the 6'10" player from Ma. Is listed as a forward. The other forward is from Long Island and is listed at 6' 7". As mentioned in an earlier post, the Guard from Pittsburg, Pa. is a shooter/scorer and comes from " good stock"...my term...since his father is a former Amherst BB player. It is noted that JMac, the CAC Rookie of the Year, has a father that played for Amherst.
I believe the heights listed are on the conservative side.

Pat Coleman · September 18, 2015, 02:12:03 PM

Quote from: amh63 on September 18, 2015, 10:20:42 AM
Coach Hixon has posted his annual pre season letter on the Amherst BB website.

You keep saying these sorts of things, as if the coach is responsible for posting information. I've mentioned before and will say again -- the sports information director is the person in the athletic department who posts schedules, news releases and the like. The SID is a key role in the athletic department.

amh63 · September 18, 2015, 03:00:22 PM

Pat C.......seems to me you are little touchy here..really. Reread my post.
First, it refers to Coach Hixon's Fall 2015 newsletter. 2nd, in your viewpoint of the SiD, maybe true IN General.....however, the SiD at Amherst does not write info on a team....evaluation / personnel wise...without a review/OK by the coach......reporting about / after a game is another matter.
Applies to the assist SID too.

Information on players, health wise, and other matters going forward should, IMO, always get a head coach review. SID are not "investigated" reporters...they are staff to the athletic department.
If you do NoT like my style, then that is another thing....we can agree to disagree on that point.

grabtherim · September 18, 2015, 03:30:25 PM

When will you get it that Pat is the authority on such matters and your knowledge means little or nothing when it comes time for him to pontificate? Please learn your place, tow the line and make sure you understand that what Pat has told us in the past is sacrosanct and any future missives are to be treated with the respect they deserve. The reality is when any of us speak in such absolutes, we are like the Wizard of Oz, a little man pushing buttons and speaking into a microphone. Very little in life is written in stone, and maybe just maybe Pat you could be wrong here, rather than being patronizing and condescending in one fell swoop. Get over yourself.

Dave 'd-mac' McHugh · September 18, 2015, 06:15:26 PM

Quote from: amh63 on September 18, 2015, 03:00:22 PM
Pat C.......seems to me you are little touchy here..really. Reread my post.
First, it refers to Coach Hixon's Fall 2015 newsletter. 2nd, in your viewpoint of the SiD, maybe true IN General.....however, the SiD at Amherst does not write info on a team....evaluation / personnel wise...without a review/OK by the coach......reporting about / after a game is another matter.
Applies to the assist SID too.
Information on players, health wise, and other matters going forward should, IMO, always get a head coach review. SID are not "investigated" reporters...they are staff to the athletic department.
If you do NoT like my style, then that is another thing....we can agree to disagree on that point.

Well to be honest... I don't know how it works at Amherst, but it is amazing how many times the SID actually writes much of what appears on the website and the coaches tend to just sign off on it. I can't tell you how many stories with coach quotes aren't really quotes from the coaches LOL (that's half kidding). For example, season previews of teams are all written by SIDs after they have had conversations with coaches about the team and such. The SIDs then craft those into previews. Again, I have no idea what happens with the newsletter at Amherst, but I can guarantee you it isn't posted on the site without the SID actually signing off and being OK with it himself.

As for heights and details like that... more and more that information isn't coming from coaches. SIDs are starting to get that info from the training staff once a player has been officially put in the system. That way coaches can under or over inflate the information (as we know they do) and SIDs can't be held accountable for false information. It doesn't happen everywhere, but more and more SIDs are not necessarily going to allow bogus info on the site (I once saw an SID have to tell a few people no who wanted the height and weight of a football player changed late in the season because they wanted him to look bigger all of the sudden - like a junior hit a four-inch and 30-pound growth spurt in the span of a week! LOL).

As for the SIDs role... while they do work for the athletic department, they do have a code of conduct as well. They are not political advisers or campaign directors. They spin to the limits of their ability to keep the department in the best light, but they are also journalists to some degree and treat their professional accordingly and thus have lines they will not cross. They most certainly are NOT low on the totem pole that they are like secretaries. In fact, I would argue some of the best athletic departments in the country have some of the best SIDs on staff. That is the reason a LOT of SIDs are associate or assistant athletic directors at schools around the country. They are a key part of the senior administration... not junior... and are not simply "staff."

amh63 · September 18, 2015, 10:12:08 PM

This topic/discussion is tiring really....both sides talking without listening really. It is NOT about the role of the SID, positon, level, etc., whatever. Basically, it is just the passing of particular info. Emphasis on the word "Particular".
In today's world of social media, conveying of sports info seems to be everywhere...via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram...have I left out the latest? Coaches use it; players use it, etc. Actually, Coach Hixon makes a statement in his newsletter that social media will be a method to pass on BB info. Welcome to the brave new world guys. What makes it intriguing within the Amherst athletic department is to see what sports...and/or Head Coach uses social media outlets.
Going to the Amherst webpage...one notes that the use of social media by coaches varies. Coach G of the WBB presently does not show any icons. Me, I am in the Dark Ages and use none. Can the AD control the info flow? Should He/ she is another question. Who is the ultimate gatekeeper of info at the College?