MBB: NESCAC

[polbear73]

Very good and unbiased summary, nescac1. Good win for Williams in a game played by a lot of promising young players on both teams.

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin loses to Williams: 65 - 76.

This Bowdoin team is living and dying by the trey.  Coming into this game they were shooting 36.5% which is a solid percentage.  Today, they only shot 26.7% and it was the difference. 

As nescac1 pointed out, the Polar Bears didn't have anything going on inside in the first half and it hurt them.  They need to create more of an interior scoring threat so that they force the defense to sag off the perimeter shooters and give them some space.  Believe it or not they did a better job of getting the ball in low to Fuller than in past games; he wound up with 10 points.  They really need both Fuller and Palecki scoring 10-12 points each to take pressure off Hausman and Simonds.  Hopefully this aspect of their game will continue to develop.

This was also an unusual game as Williams completed more free throws than Bowdoin even attempted.  As a team Williams didn't shoot any better from the line than average they just got there much more often (Bowdoin committed many un-necessary fouls that put Williams in the 1and1 at the 10 minute mark of the second half).  Aronowitz was unconscious from the foul line shooting 11-14.

Bowdoin lost the battle of the boards 31-37 but they did lead in second chance points 11-6.

This one will make for a long bus ride back to Brunswick as I think the players know that they can win on any given night.  They have lots of potential and lots to work on before hosting Amherst on Friday evening.

GoUBears!!

[P'bearfan]

Hausman and Simonds take 36 shots against Williams.  The rest of the team; 27. 

middhoops - excellent observation and this goes to the point I made earlier about needing to find more offensive balance.  Bowdoin was shooting very early in the shot clock (and typically from long range) on too many possessions.  Unfortunately they were missing those shots and had no one underneath to rebound. 

The pieces are all there; the team needs to keep working to put together a more balanced and complete offensive attack. 

GoUBears!!

[amh63]

I watched the Bowdoin vs Williams game too! . I looked at who was guarding who, etc. Appeared to me Hausman was guarding Aronowitz most of the time.  Williams when not in a zone? had several different players on Hausman....including a big tall freshman.  At half time, went to the game in Maine.  Seems Hausman who was a little off from outside in the first half and often deferred  to his teammates, picked up in the 2nd half.  According to the Bowdoin announcer, Hausman was leading the charge and the Polarbears was down only one.  Turned back to the men's game and saw the last minutes of the game in Chandler.
In any case, looking forward to the Amherst vs Bowdoin match up in Maine.  Will see if there is anyone who can keep Hauseman down a bit on the Amherst team.  In general, Amherst prefers man to man.
The women's game in LeFrak should  also be a battle .

[Vandy74]

Interesting start to league play near Otter Creek. As the Panthers minutes have gone to younger players, the intensity has ramped up. I don't think Midd can succeed without scoring and leadership from Huff and Daley, but this experience is huge for the young guys now and even more so next year and beyond. If Midd brings in another group of guys who warrant the minutes the last few classes have, they may well find themselves back on the 2009-2013 track.  All that said, I'm hoping for a magic carpet ride this season as their less than mediocre start makes it clear the only way the Panthers sniff the NCAAs is to hang a NESCAC banner in Pepin.

While watching the first half of yesterday's game with Matt Daley's dad he told me his son's latest setback seems to be stress fracture related.  I knew I'd noticed him limping slightly as he walked across the court at halftime the night before.  Panther fans who have watched the young man play through pain and illness over the past two seasons had really hoped he was due one health issue free campaign this time around. 

[NothingButNESCAC]

Hausman and Simonds take 36 shots against Williams.  The rest of the team; 27.

Hausman and Simonds combined: 15-36 (41.7%)
Rest of the team: 8-27 (29.6%)

This is the way Bowdoin plays. They rely on those two guys to score the basketball. Unfortunately they both ended up missing shots down the stretch yesterday. I'm sure it's not the way that Coach Tim Gilbride wants to play, but their best shot is to put the ball in the hands of their two most talented players. The problem is both guys are best creating shots 1 on 1 and aren't great playmakers for others. But they are still tremendous shot makers.

[magicman]

One game this week, Williams at Midd on Saturday. The Ephs destroyed us last year at Chandler, hoping for some payback.

Old Guy,
Just a quick heads up...if you go to see the Panthers play Williams on Saturday, please bring your sleeping bag. Tip off time is 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon.

[nescac1]

Nice article on future Eph Henry Feinberg: http://www.marinij.com/sports/20160117/prep-boys-basketball-feinberg-jackett-leading-branson-for-one-last-season  Here is what he says about his decision to attend Williams: einberg has committed to play at Williams College (Division III) in Massachusetts next winter. This season, the Ephs are 10-5. But it isn't athletics that most attracted Feinberg to the school.

"It's a top-level education, which was really important to me and my family," said Feinberg, who received multiple D-I offers. "It's a great school and it's great basketball."

The Ephs should have a very, very strong group of forwards next year with Aronowitz, Scadlock, Heskett, and Feinberg. 

There has been enough of a sample of NESCAC games to make a number of observations based on statistics:

Lucas Hausman has played to his POY billing scoring 26.3 ppg on excellent shooting (45/45/86).  But perhaps the more impressive player through four games has been Vinny Pace: 22.3-8.8-3.3 on positively scorching shooting (53-58-79).  Certainly the break-out player in the league and a clear first team all-NESCAC guy if he keeps anything like this going.  Based only on conference play to date, Ed Ogundeko (having a monster season as he has much improved his touch to go along with his ridiculous length and athleticism), Shay Ajayi, Dan Aronowitz, Hausman, Pace, and Matt St. Amour would be the first-team all league guys (I realize that is six), with Jeff Racy right there as well. 

Shay Ajayi's defensive stat line is insane.  He has to be the early favorite for DPOY with 3.7 spg and 1.7 bpg (!!) (although granted, Trinity has only played 3 games, all of them at home, and hasn't yet played anyone over .500 in the league, so I imagine he will come back down to earth a bit).

Jeff Racy's three point shot has become the deadliest single weapon in the league.  It helps that he is surrounded by loads of athletic penetrators who get him open looks, but with his size and quick release, he doesn't need much space at all and his range is very deep.  Racy is shooting 72 percent from 3 on six attempts per game in conference play -- that's not easy to do in warm-ups!!  If I'm game planning for Amherst, Racy's guy is never, ever leaving him to help and is fighting to stick on him every second off-the-ball, which really opens up the floor for the rest of the team. 

Jayde Dawson seems to finally really be coming into his own for Amherst, which is a scary thought for the rest of the league. I know there has been a lot of Green chatter, and he has indeed struggled in league play, but he's always been a very hot-cold player.  It's certainly scary that he now has become a third option on offense because you know there will be a few big games when he is feeling it and can single-handedly take over, but at the same time, Amherst doesn't need him to be a big scorer to win.  And the thought of what Amherst will do next year when Green is replaced by more-than-capable guys in Riopel and incoming recruit Mobley, with everyone else back and a year better, plus maybe Schneider ready to contribute, is scary.  Amherst has also benefited from really good health this year, as the top 8 players have not missed a single game between them. 

BJ Davis has really cooled down from his scorching out-of-conference performance.  He will need to pick things up if Wesleyan hopes to rebound from a surprisingly poor start to the conference season. 

Finally, after a surprisingly poor rookie group last year (McCarthy and Pace look like the only sophomores in the league with all-NESCAC potential, barring some massive improvements by other guys as upperclassmen), this year's rookie class is absolutely LOADED and really, really deep.   Rowe, Casey, Simonds, Scadlock, Hoffman, Simonds, Labossiere, Groll, Baines, Dahlel and Grassey are all averaging 8 ppg or better in NESCAC play.  What looked like a two-man race between Simonds and Scadlock for ROY now looks wide open depending on how the rest of the season goes.  Bobby Casey in particular has really picked things up with scorching shooting numbers (outside of FTAs, but it's a small sample size): 12.5 ppg on 63/56/50 line in NESCAC action. 

Hamilton (Groll/GrasseyHoffmann), Conn (Rowe/Labossier), Middlebury (Baines/Dahlel/McCord), Bowdoin (Simonds/O'Neil/Ahn) and Williams (Scadlock/Casey/Heskett/Soto) all seem to have very, very strong frosh classes.  It helps that all five of those teams brought back fairly thin rosters without established stars, so the frosh have all been giving opportunities that they might not get elsewhere, but they've contributed at a high enough collective level that it's clear all of those frosh are for real.  Other than likely Bowdoin (losing Hausman will be brutal), those are all teams who figure to be MUCH improved next season as the frosh mature and play bigger roles. 

[amh63]

Was up early today....wife has a scheduled doctor's visit...got to read NothingButNescac and nescac1 fine posts on the status of the conference.  In general,for me, it is too early to project what may happen at the end of the season and I admit I have trouble remembering key opponents faces and names and this year with all the young players performing well....it is becoming more problematic.
Amherst plays Wesleyan tonight in Middletown and I did some research. .  Amherst won in LeFrak this season by 26 points and all dressed players got into the game.  Amherst won last season in LeFrak and won by 26 in the non conference game.  As a reference point, Conner Green was a starter and scored in double figures and had 9 RB...with George having 10. 
Last season in CT, Amherst only won by 17 points in the game that counted....not really crushing the Cardinals as I had earlier posted...my bad.  More interesting is that Amherst had a much different starting lineup with Green missing.  JMac and George had relative weak performance numbers.  J Dawson and Green came off the bench and performed well.  Green ended up with the most minutes, most points and the most RBs in the game.  Maybe there was some illness going around OR some something else....strange when it is a game that counts in the conference and a little three game.
I hope Amherst travels well today and plays good defense so that Amherst can put its freshman into the game.

Normally I also do not want to project ahead to the Bowdoin game....an away game.....but was curious to see how the two first team all conference players performed last season.  The game was at Amherst and Hurley and Swords were playing.  Total different team chemistry....but wanted to see who was guarding Hauseman, etc.  The stats was most revealing.  First, Bowdoin lost badly...was it the trip down?  Other factors?  Second, could not tell who guarded Hauseman; Hauseman was the top Polar Bear scorer with 19 points.  Amherst's top scorer and rebounder was Conner Green with 33 points and 12 RBs.  Yes 33 points and not all from outside.
If any other posters can remember that game, please post for I do not remember much.

Presently, I am taking what I often hear on TV....one game at a time approach.  If Amherst wins by a point or a blowout...doesn't matter.  DPOY, ROY, etc.....it will shake out.at the end of the season. Many games ahead.

[P'bearfan]

Normally I also do not want to project ahead to the Bowdoin game....an away game.....but was curious to see how the two first team all conference players performed last season.  The game was at Amherst and Hurley and Swords were playing.  Total different team chemistry....but wanted to see who was guarding Hauseman, etc.  The stats was most revealing.  First, Bowdoin lost badly...was it the trip down?  Other factors?

Not to take anything away from last year's Amherst squad which was an excellent team, but this match up came the day after Bowdoin lost to Trinity in OT.  Many of the Bowdoin starters played significantly more minutes than normal (e.g. Swords logged 38 minutes if I remember correctly).  Coach Gilbride took a gamble and played the starters long in order to upset Trinity and potentially win the conference regular season.  It was the right call.  Unfortunately, the Polar Bears had nothing in the tank when they faced Amherst less than 12 hours later. 

[amh63]

P'Bearfan....most grateful for your clarifying post.  Aw,...the back to back games against tough opponents.  Also the factor of a " short " bench..it seems.  Went back to the Amherst Friday game against Colby...a 20 point win.  Could explain in part the " strange " starting lineup on Sat.  Seems Both George and Green were taken out of the Friday game early...Green had only 10 minutes on the floor.
For Sat's game Levine was at center, Nabatoff, Berman (who had 13 assist on Fri.)Riopel and  JMac to start the game against Bowdoin.  Green played 35 minutes in the game and George played well.  Guess Amherst's deeper bench was helpful.

Looked at the 2nd game with Bowdoin..in the CAC Tourny.  Two bits of info  I gleamed/ deduced...hopefully correct.  Hauseman was the leading scorer for Bowdoin again while Green was not....Green played mucho minutes and appeared tired guarding Hauseman!  Bowdoin's short bench hurt them as Amherst won easily...both teams playing its 2nd tournament game.
Forgot.  Amherst has not avoided the injury factor.  Nabatoff was injured earlier in the season and is slowly returning to form....he part of what I call the 9 man starter rotation.  Another Jr. From Arizona is presently in street clothes...a tall long player with an outside shot.

[middhoops]

Any heavy hitters in the tv biz out there?
CBS is broadcasting the Pats and Broncos at the same exact time at the Midd/Ephs game.
I suggest moving the football game to Saturday to accommodate D3 hoops.  Obviously.

[amh63]

Middhoops....agreed.  My questions are as follows.....where will the game be played?.......and why is the CAC game on Sunday?  If the NFL game was at  mile high stadium it would help a bit.

[booyakasha]

Amh63 - Williams plays the Fri/Sun schedule this year with the lack of a travel partner.

[Old Guy]

One game this week, Williams at Midd on Saturday. The Ephs destroyed us last year at Chandler, hoping for some payback.

Old Guy,
Just a quick heads up...if you go to see the Panthers play Williams on Saturday, please bring your sleeping bag. Tip off time is 3:00 PM on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks, Magicman - head to head with the Patriots' game in Denver. An interesting choice for many fans of both teams (Midd & Pats).