MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

With some high profile guys posting relatively modest stat lines early in the season, pretty hard to come up with a first-semester all NESCAC squad.  I'm sure this will change dramatically, but here is a shot:

First Team:  Dan Aronowitz, Jack Simonds, Jayde Dawson, Ed Ogundeko, Johnny McCarthy
Second Team: Matt St. Amour, Jack Daly, Marcus Delpche, Tom Palleschi, Tyler Rowe
Third Team: Michael Grassey, Zuri Pavlin, Cole Teal, Vinny Pace, Jake Brown

Also on radar: Kyle Scadlock, Peter Hoffman, Salim Green, Joseph Kuo, Patrick Stewart

Wesleyan is undefeated but has been incredibly balanced so it's hard to pick any one guy from that team.  Green probably the strongest case and I think he may put up bigger numbers in conference play. 

[nescac1]

Nice to see highlights from the first semester up for the Ephs (the first highlights since 2011 -- it's criminal that Williams has no highlights available from the 2014 tourney, as the Ephs had about a four game run with the best sustained stretch of play on offense I've ever seen in D3). 

http://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/mbkb/video/index

If Williams moves the ball, and moves without the ball, the way it did in the first half of the Springfield game and the second half of the Vassar game, they can beat anyone.  Other than Dan Aronowitz and on occasion Kyle Scadlock, the Ephs don't have guys who are going to break down the defense on their own and either burn guys with quickness and athleticism or overpower them with inside strength.  But what Williams has is about 8-9 players who are VERY good finishers of plays, whether around the rim, from distance, or both, and plenty of good passers.  When the Ephs use ball and man movement to get the ball to guys in a position where they have the advantage over the defense, they can really be deadly.  The team needs to get more consistent, and I expect they will over time -- a lot of the sophomores are just starting to come into their own as players. 

[nescac1]

My favorite Eph possession in the highlights is at 1:10 of the Springfield highlight -- Casey and Kempton run a pick-and-roll (something Kempton, who has really nice hands and see the floor well, seems to be improving at), and there are four very quick passes in succession -- Casey to Kempton who draws a collapsing defender then swings it out to Scadlock who immediately passes to Teal for an open three.  Two guys could have shot it but both passed it up for a better look: a short corner three from the Ephs' best three point threat.  The play involved three sophomores and a junior, all of whom should continue to gain more chemistry over time.   The spaces will be tighter and the reaction times quicker against teams with more experienced defenders than Springfield, so the Ephs will have to keep working on precision play like that.   

[Old Guy]

First Team:  Dan Aronowitz, Jack Simonds, Jayde Dawson, Ed Ogundeko, Johnny McCarthy
Second Team: Matt St. Amour, Jack Daly, Marcus Delpche, Tom Palleschi, Tyler Rowe
Third Team: Michael Grassey, Zuri Pavlin, Cole Teal, Vinny Pace, Jake Brown
.

Wish Jake Brown could get more love - the best pure point guard in the league: the assists leader, good assists/turnover ratio, runs the Midd offense. Excellent defensively, takes a lot of pride in his defense, harasses the opposing pg the whole game.

Against Skidmore he put the team on this back, went aggressively to the hoop finishing or shooting a short jumper: 22 points (9-13), nine assists (2 TOs). With 16 seconds left, Midd up one (72-71), Skidmore spread the floor and gave Medunjanin the ball with Brown playing him, giving away four inches. Brown's D forced the pass that enabled the blocked shot that iced the game.

He's shooting 85% from the line (28-33) - what you like to see from your point guard, especially when he has the ball with the game on the line.

[nescac1]

Here's the thing Old Guy -- do you think Jake Brown is right now better than St. Amour AND Daly AND maybe even Baines?  I think it's already a stretch to have three Midd guys represented in the top 15 players.  But if he is (as I think) the third best player on Midd, and if he is even a second-team all-NESCAC player, then Midd SHOULD be blowing teams away left and right. 

St. Amour is a pre-season all-American and by far the leading scorer and go-to guy on Midd.  I think he has to be there.  Then it's down to Daly vs. Brown.  Daly is (I think, right?) the best defender on Midd, and usually draws the toughest assignment.  He averages 11-6-5 with 2.4 spg and only 1.4 turnovers per game.  Brown is at 10-3-7 with 1.5 spg and amd 3 topg.  Brown is a much better three point and free throw shooter, but overall, I think Daly is the more valuable player.  Brown was the best player on the floor vs. Skidmore, but that's just one game --- vs. Endicott, Midd's only loss, he fouled out after scoring only two points, so that is kind of a wash.  Daly on the other hand was awesome in that Endicott game. 

I'll defer to Midd fans regarding who the two best players on the team are, so if you think Brown is one of them, sure, I'd buy him making an all-NESCAC team.  But unless Midd ends up as the top team in NESCAC, and right now, they are no better than third, I don't see how they can have three of the top ten guys in the league ...

Also, the PG I have on the second team is having a great year for a Conn College team with only one loss.  Check out Rowe's stat line: 15-3-5, shooting 51-40-78, 2 topg and 2 spg.  Overall, stronger stats than Brown, and with similar team results.  Vs. one common opponent, Eastern Conn, Rowe put up 17-7-6, while Brown put up 12-1-5.  Seems like a pretty clear case for Rowe over Brown, as well. 

[toad22]

The discussion about Midd's Brown, is exactly why I don't care much about "All ----" discussions. Jake Brown may very well be the most important player on the Midd team. Everybody wants the "most valuable" player - meaning the guy who scores the most. Two different guys, but neither one more important to the success of the team than the other. In the past years at Williams, I would argue that for three years, the most important player on the team was Nate Robertson. Two of those teams went very deep in the NCAA championship. Yet, Nate was never pick "All anything". These yearend individual honors only tell a part of the story. Hail all those guys who are "Most important".

[WesCardPlayer]

Big test for the Cardinals tomorrow in Daytona Beach as they face #4 Marietta... after squeaking by 1-7 Washington & Lee. Wes looked good against the Ephs, but most of their wins have been against "lesser" competition. Hopefully the Cards' depth keeps them in it.

[Old Guy]

Here's the thing Old Guy -- do you think Jake Brown is right now better than St. Amour AND Daly AND maybe even Baines?  I think it's already a stretch to have three Midd guys represented in the top 15 players.  But if he is (as I think) the third best player on Midd, and if he is even a second-team all-NESCAC player, then Midd SHOULD be blowing teams away left and right. 

St. Amour is a pre-season all-American and by far the leading scorer and go-to guy on Midd.  I think he has to be there.  Then it's down to Daly vs. Brown.  Daly is (I think, right?) the best defender on Midd, and usually draws the toughest assignment.  He averages 11-6-5 with 2.4 spg and only 1.4 turnovers per game.  Brown is at 10-3-7 with 1.5 spg and amd 3 topg.  Brown is a much better three point and free throw shooter, but overall, I think Daly is the more valuable player.  Brown was the best player on the floor vs. Skidmore, but that's just one game --- vs. Endicott, Midd's only loss, he fouled out after scoring only two points, so that is kind of a wash.  Daly on the other hand was awesome in that Endicott game. 

I'll defer to Midd fans regarding who the two best players on the team are, so if you think Brown is one of them, sure, I'd buy him making an all-NESCAC team.  But unless Midd ends up as the top team in NESCAC, and right now, they are no better than third, I don't see how they can have three of the top ten guys in the league ...

Also, the PG I have on the second team is having a great year for a Conn College team with only one loss.  Check out Rowe's stat line: 15-3-5, shooting 51-40-78, 2 topg and 2 spg.  Overall, stronger stats than Brown, and with similar team results.  Vs. one common opponent, Eastern Conn, Rowe put up 17-7-6, while Brown put up 12-1-5.  Seems like a pretty clear case for Rowe over Brown, as well.

Sheesh, who is nescac1 anyway - Bill Simmons? Hard to argue with the guy - makes sense. I'll have to pay more attention to Rowe. I guess I would be happy with a Middlebury player named StAmourdalybrown on the All-NESCAC first team.

Shortest darkest day of the year tomorrow - going to be an exciting winter in NESCAC hoops.

[P'bearfan]

Wish Jake Brown could get more love - the best pure point guard in the league: the assists leader, good assists/turnover ratio, runs the Midd offense. Excellent defensively, takes a lot of pride in his defense, harasses the opposing pg the whole game.

Old Guy - can't argue with your assessment of Jake Brown but I would say that you have to put Tim Ahn right there with him in the category of best pure PG's in the conference.  They have very similar stats:

Brown:  10 ppg; 2.7 rpg; 7.4 apg; 2.6 a/to; 1.5 stl pg

Ahn:        8 ppg; 2.6 rpg; 6.9 apg; 6.1 a/to; 0.8 st pg


Ahn is still growing as a PG and will get better in his remaining time at Bowdoin but his assist / to ratio so far this season really stands out.  Like Brown, Ahn is a smothering defender.   

[nescac1]

I think a lot of really good players are going to be excluded from recognition this year because this year's group of seniors is REALLY good and REALLY deep; it's less an issue of, this guy isn't good enough vs. there are just so many OTHER good players to consider.  There is a reason three NESCAC teams are in the top 25, two others receiving votes, and the rest of the conference is above .500 right now. 

Look at all those really talented seniors spread throughout the league: the ridiculous Amherst class led by Dawson, Racy, and George, Aronowitz, St. Amour, Brown, the Delpeche brothers, Ogundeko, Rafferty, Kuo, Stewart, Pavlin, Palleschi, Smith ... that's a really strong senior class for the league.  And the two most talented would-be seniors -- Duncan Robinson and Hunter Sabety -- are both playing D1 ball right now.   (The Junior class is far less stacked -- only 5 of the top 25 scorers in the league are juniors, including none of the top 8, and McCarthy and Pace are the only guys even on the radar for regional -- let alone national -- individual accolades over the next year two years.  I think NESCAC as a whole will likely take a step back next season accordingly). 

Speaking of Sabety, he put on FORTY pounds in his red shirt year.  He's now up to 290 and looks like an absolute monster ... http://www.gohofstra.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4333&path=mbball
I imagine a lot of NESCAC big guys are breathing serious sighs of relief that they don't have to box that dude out this year. 

Three huge NESCAC out-of-region games this week.  Wesleyan will get a chance to prove if they are for real against top-five Marietta.  As noted, Williams was they only really strong opponent for the Cards so far, and both teams frankly looked ugly that game, Wesleyan just a bit less ugly.  The Cards do seem to be a bit short-handed right now, down a few athletic wing players from the start-of-the-season rotation, but are still balanced and deep with good athletes with large frames who can make anyone really work hard to score -- Marietta has been lighting up a very strong slate of opponents to the tune of 86 ppg, so the Cards will need to play incredible defense to have a chance.  What the Cards lack right now is a few go-to scorers who can create their own offense, and I think they will need to hold Marietta probably around 10 points below their average  to have a chance.  Salim Green will get there as a go-to guy on offense, but he is still learning.  If the Cards pull the upset tonight, they will very likely be a top-10 team, which NO ONE saw coming heading into the season. 

For the next two big games we will have to wait a week, when Williams and Midd both face top-25 opponents and traditional Midwest power teams Hope and Illinois Wesleyan.  It will be very interesting to see how the top tier (albeit not the very top) of NESCAC right now matches up with other top-notch opponents. 

[middhoops]

Wesleyan is going up against a strong and deep Marietta team.  Marietta goes 10 deep and spreads the scoring around evenly.  6-6, 250 forward AJ Edwards is a beast.  If the Cardinals win this game, it's a BIG DEAL, both for them and the conference.
Next week Middlebury plays IWU at Staten Island.  IWU is yet another one of those strong, smart, deep teams we see from the CCIW.  They have a big man, Trevor Siebring, who will give Midd's 'center by committee' all they can handle.  The IWU coach's son Brady Rose is a terrific shooting guard.  Very quick first step, great shooter.  Plenty of other top notch players.
Illinois Wesleyan has to be considered the favorite in match up. 
The Panthers are lacking depth right now, waiting for Hilal Dahleh and Eric McCord to return from injuries.
Nick Tarantino and Matt Folger have been potent on offense and provide rim protection on D off the bench.  The back court is talented (as nescac1 made crystal clear) but Brown, Daly, St. Amour and Bryan Jones have been playing significant minutes thus far.  The rest they've had since the 10th will come in handy against IWU.

[middhoops]

Wesleyan plays a great 1st half, leading Marietta 36-28.  They have outplayed Marietta in nearly every aspect of the game.
Joseph Kuo has 14 on 7-9 and stellar defense.
Wesleyan has been the tougher team, forcing turnovers, blocking shots, pushing the action.
Marietta has nearly no points in the paint.
The refs are clearly letting the boys play.  That may not hold for the 2nd half.

Wesleyan looks poised and confident.  Long way to go, but 20 minutes in they look like the better team.

[middhoops]

In a sloppy 2nd half by both teams where the refs wore out their whistles evenly, Wesleyan played hard nosed defense and won by 16 (81-65), but it wasn't easy.  The Cardinals were the tougher, more physical team.
Marietta struggled under the hoop and shot only 37% from the floor.
The Cardinals came back from a lackluster game last night to beat the #4 team in the country.  Wesleyan is going to take a huge jump in the ratings next week.  If not, it's a crime because they looked like a top 10 team.

[nescac1]

Wow, huge win for an underrated Wesleyan squad.  The Cards' ranking should be very interesting.  Given that they lost three starters, including their star, from a team that finished a disappointing 5-5 in NESCAC last year, no one had them picked for the top five of in the league this year.  But Wesleyan is obviously much better than expected, and has put together a top-5 NATIONAL resume: 11-0, with two excellent convincing wins over Williams and Marietta, and an extremely impressive 18 ppg margin of victory overall.  The Cards should be no worse than sixth in the next national poll -- amazing for a team with zero pre-season expectations. 

They are doing it with defense -- they don't win pretty, but what they do REALLY well (as Dan Aronowitz and A.J. Edwards learned) is take away teams' number one options by swarming them whenever they get the ball.  And with Kuo patrolling the lane and a host of big athletic wings with good recovery speed, it's hard to get many clean looks against them. 

Kevin O'Brien is a guy who really impresses me, you just can't judge his value by a box score -- he plays great D, does a tremendous job creating for teammates, and seems to get to EVERY loose ball; a gritty, tough, consumate glue guy.  He is part of a stellar sophomore class (Green, Bonner, and Gardiner provide three perimeter scoring threats, none of whom contributed much as frosh) that has really emerged this year and more than compensated for the production lost to graduation.  And Rafferty has been clutch after moving into a full-time starting role as a senior.   

Even more impressive, Wesleyan is down two important wing players -- Jordan Bonner, who had a dynamic first five games as a starter before (presumably) getting hurt, and P.J. Reed, who has missed the last few games.  Not sure if those are long-term injury issues, but if those guys come back for the second semester, the Cards will be even deeper and more athletic on the wing. 

They may not be terribly pretty to watch, but Wesleyan is very much for real this year. 

[gordonmann]

Yeah, how about that?

My favorite note on the game comes from Wesleyan's recap. This is the Cardinals' best start since they went 13-0 in 1911-1912. That was the whole season -- 13 games.

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2016/12/wesleyan-marietta