MBB: NESCAC

[ronk]

Guys....Hoop fan and ronk...have passed by Good Counsel (new buildings/location) and Magruder frequently....on my way to Annapolis/ beach and to work at APL/ JHU.  Fine schools with high caliber students and sports.  Unfortunately, basketball is Not a sport that comes to my mind.

APL? So you're not just a pretty face ; you've got some smarts!

[ronk]

 Helen wins 1st USA gold in women's wrestling.

[30 for 30]

Matt Hart's decision to transfer to GW looks better by the day. Full scholarship. Played at MSG. Won the NIT. Tour of Japan. Hart played 350 minutes last year and scored 150 points. He is a co captain this year and will log serious minutes as a combo guard. 


http://www.gwsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/082116aaa.html

http://www.gwsports.com/sports/m-baskbl/gewa-m-baskbl-body.html

[nescac1]

Glad that things have worked out so well for Hart.

It's pretty crazy how rich in talent NESCAC was in 2013-14 (considering two NESCAC teams made the Final Four that year, in a very strong year at the top in D3, I guess it's no surprise).  I don't think we've ever seen a more talented group in NESCAC, and we may never see anything like it again ... certainly, the aggregate talent level has fallen off considerably since that year.

You had Aaron Toomey, a two-time national player of the year.  Duncan Robinson, the national rookie of the year who is now starting for Michigan.  Michael Mayer and Joey Kizel, two more D3 all-Americans (and by the end of the season once fully healthy and back in the groove, I'd argue that Mayer was the single best player in D3; he was certainly the best player at the 2014 final four).  Hudnut was a major factor as a sophomore but unfortunately was a bit limited by injuries as an upperclassman.  John Swords, a legit 7 foot monster.  Matt Hart and Hunter Sabety, both of whom will be playing D1 this coming year.  Really strong players like Connor Green, Graham Safford and Daniel Wohl couldn't even crack the all-NESCAC squad.  That was just a monster year for NESCAC. 

The three transfers up to D1 have hurt the talent level of the conference a bit (the two best recruits in the rising senior class, Robinson and Sabety, are now playing D1), but also the current group of rising juniors are part of a strangely thin, star-deficient group in NESCAC overall.  Looking at the top juniors in the league, there is Vinny Pace, an all-American talent who of course is now a big question mark coming back from a major injury, Johnny McCarthy, who is likely to be an all-NESCAC player this year, and that's about it in terms of potential all-NESCAC (let alone all-American guys).  The rising sophomore class looks to be an elite one led by stellar classes for Williams, Hamilton, Conn College, Midd and Bowdoin, and the reports on the incoming frosh class look good, so the future for the conference may be brighter than the present (except for Amherst, which is of course stacked with talented seniors). 

[P'bearfan]

Looks like Lucas Hausman will play in Spain next year:

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Former Bowdoin standout men's basketball player Lucas Hausman has signed a contract to play professionally in Spain.

One of the most accomplished men's basketball players in Bowdoin history, Hausman was the 2015 NESCAC Player of the Year and a First Team NABC All-American. As a senior, he established a new single-season Bowdoin and NESCAC record for scoring average (25.1/game).

Hausman signed with Basket Villa de Mieres 2012 and will report to the club next month, according to this article from the Westport News.

Best of luck to Hausman!  It will be a long time until we see another player quite like him.

[amh63]

An observation only.  Hausman of Bowdoin and Vinny Pace of Tufts both had breakout Sophmore years.  My faulty memory recalls that both did Not have special FY seasons and were not highly touted recruits.  Corrections to my memory most welcome.
Having said the above, it is what makes this conference interesting on the " prediction" front.  Given a base of fine recruits, it proves puzzling when highly media touted ones do not seem to meet expectations and unexpected players move on to become MVPs.

[ronk]

  I would have touted Vinny Pace if he had come to Scranton instead of Tufts.

[nescac1]

Hausman was definitely a surprise player, amh63.  I note that he made massive improvements to his game in each of his four years at Bowdoin, going from a role player as an underclassman to the best player in the league as a junior and senior.  Pace, on the other hand, was a guy who I think big things were always expected from.  Lest you think that I would not notice an eminent player from my high school alma mater headed to NESCAC, here is what I wrote about him a few years ago :

A bit of recruiting news: Vincent Pace, who is the star of my high school alma mater in New Jersey, is supposedly headed to Tufts.  He is a big, talented wing in the Ben Ferris mold, can shoot, drive, and dish.  Bridgewater-Raritan produces a lot of good, hard-nosed players (most famously Eric Murdock, but also some solid lower-level players like former D3 all-American James McNally) and I'm sure he will do well at Tufts.  The Jumbos continue to accumulate a lot of talented players. 

.....

This year's frosh class should be interesting.  Lots of highly touted players coming to Amherst, Williams, Trinity and Middlebury in particular, but all four schools have a lot of retuning talent already on hand, so it's uncertain how many of them will see early playing time.  Amherst is bringing in a ton of very good wings but with only Green graduating, probably only room for one (at most) in this year's rotation.  My guess is Clapp is the guy we will see play early, but perhaps Mobley just due to his incredible range.  I could see any of three frosh playing for Williams, but each would have to beat out a veteran (or two) for playing time, so who knows.  Trinity has some really strong perimeter recruits who I expect will at least see some time off the bench early in the season.  It helps their cause that Trinity graduated its top three guards.  The highly-touted guards coming into Bates, on the other hand, are very likely to be instant-impact guys, perhaps one will even start as a frosh. 

[amh63]

Thanks ronk and Nescac1!  I stand corrected wrt V. Pace.  I must have been "blinded" by the Twin Towers at Tufts and their expected impact within the conference....forgetting and/or ignoring posts on a player like Pace.  Am I bias against Jersey Boys? .

[quicksilver]

An observation only.  Hausman of Bowdoin and Vinny Pace of Tufts both had breakout Sophmore years.  My faulty memory recalls that both did Not have special FY seasons and were not highly touted recruits.  Corrections to my memory most welcome.
Having said the above, it is what makes this conference interesting on the " prediction" front.  Given a base of fine recruits, it proves puzzling when highly media touted ones do not seem to meet expectations and unexpected players move on to become MVPs.

Your memory is dead on with regard to Lucas Hausman!!! He played only 18 minutes PG as a FY and averaged just 6.5PPG.

[P'bearfan]

Your memory is dead on with regard to Lucas Hausman!!! He played only 18 minutes PG as a FY and averaged just 6.5PPG.

I cannot speak to how highly recruited Hausman was or how high the expectations were for him when he arrived in Brunswick. And while I agree that his game progressed / evolved during his Bowdoin career I think we need to view his limiting playing time during his first 2 years in the proper context. 

Traditionally, FY's don't get a lot of playing time in the Bowdoin system (last year was a BIG exception).  On top of that, Bowdoin had some very strong teams during Hausman's first two years.  For instance, Hausman only getting 18 mpg as PG in his FY shouldn't be surprising - he was playing behind Bryan Hurley - who lead the conf that year with 8+ assists per game (if memory serves).  There was also Matt Mathias who took over PG duties the next year when Hurley was injured.  Viewed in that light Hausman's 18 minutes per game were actually quite impressive.

Same story during Hausman's sophomore year.  That year's team was arguably the best  in the program's history (or one of the top 3 teams).  The lineup was stacked and only 3 bench players got any consistent and meaningful playing time: Hausman (sophomore); Fuller (FY); Palecki (sophomore).  That year you could really see Hausman's potential - one player from that team called him "instant offense".  Who knew that would be an understatement?!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Your memory is dead on with regard to Lucas Hausman!!! He played only 18 minutes PG as a FY and averaged just 6.5PPG.

I cannot speak to how highly recruited Hausman was or how high the expectations were for him when he arrived in Brunswick. And while I agree that his game progressed / evolved during his Bowdoin career I think we need to view his limiting playing time during his first 2 years in the proper context. 

Traditionally, FY's don't get a lot of playing time in the Bowdoin system (last year was a BIG exception).  On top of that, Bowdoin had some very strong teams during Hausman's first two years.  For instance, Hausman only getting 18 mpg as PG in his FY shouldn't be surprising - he was playing behind Bryan Hurley - who lead the conf that year with 8+ assists per game (if memory serves).  There was also Matt Mathias who took over PG duties the next year when Hurley was injured.  Viewed in that light Hausman's 18 minutes per game were actually quite impressive.

Same story during Hausman's sophomore year.  That year's team was arguably the best  in the program's history (or one of the top 3 teams).  The lineup was stacked and only 3 bench players got any consistent and meaningful playing time: Hausman (sophomore); Fuller (FY); Palecki (sophomore).  That year you could really see Hausman's potential - one player from that team called him "instant offense".  Who know that would be an understatement?!

Wasn't that the year they had six seniors?  Tough to break into a lineup like that.

[quicksilver]

Your memory is dead on with regard to Lucas Hausman!!! He played only 18 minutes PG as a FY and averaged just 6.5PPG.

I cannot speak to how highly recruited Hausman was or how high the expectations were for him when he arrived in Brunswick. And while I agree that his game progressed / evolved during his Bowdoin career I think we need to view his limiting playing time during his first 2 years in the proper context. 

. . . .

Wasn't that the year they had six seniors?  Tough to break into a lineup like that.

No -- there were just 2 seniors on the team on Hausman's 1st year (both big men) and 3 in his second year.

[amh63]

Since we are focusing on Bowdoin....
P'bearfan, what "box" would you put Swords within the Polarbear system?  I remember the cautious posts when Swords entered the Nescac.  Huge potential based on size....a potential " 7-footer".  Skill level out of high school was limited, but developable.  By his senior year Swords was a player that Amherst had to change their  preferred game plan for, IMO.
Meanwhile, it appears the college game is changing with the skill level of players today...the long ball game.
Amherst has a player in the class of 2020 that can be put in the catagory of high media expectation.  The player Sewell won the Gatorade POY  for the state of Massachusetts.  He could be a bigger version of Conner Green who was the Gatorade POY for NH.  Conner, a favorite of mine, was an undersized PF with an outside shot that contributed with his rebounds and inside game in his senior year.

[P'bearfan]

Since we are focusing on Bowdoin....
P'bearfan, what "box" would you put Swords within the Polarbear system?  I remember the cautious posts when Swords entered the Nescac.  Huge potential based on size....a potential " 7-footer".  Skill level out of high school was limited, but developable.  By his senior year Swords was a player that Amherst had to change their  preferred game plan for, IMO.

amh63...not quite certain what you mean by "box"....my understanding is that Swords was initially viewed just as you described him - a player with tremendous upside.  His development as a player is a credit to both him and Coach Gilbride. 

IMO, Swords play to a huge leap forward his junior year.  His skills and understanding of the game both ratcheted up and the results were remarkable.  Swords became a very consistent producer of double doubles.  There are two aspects of Swords game that IMO don't get enough credit:  1) how much he forced opponents to change their entire offensive scheme  (i.e. no one went inside and opponents lived and died on the 3 which become easier to defend); 2) his passing.  He was a very good and at times a brilliant passer.

On top of all this Swords is one of the brightest and most interesting young men I've ever had the privilege to meet.  I enjoyed every conversation I ever had with him.