MBB: NESCAC

[Colby Hoops]

While Williams-Mid is the game of the weekend, the Colby-Bowdoin game is a big one for the bottom of the Nescac standings. Losing team will be fighting an uphill battle to make the conference tournament. Should be a good game, and expect Bowdoin will be ready having lost the non-league game in Waterville earlier in the year. Simonds is back to his usual ways after a slow start to the year and David Reynolds continues to be a consistent scorer for Bowdoin. Colby can't expect another 5-20 from Simonds like he had in the first matchup.

Matt Hanna has had a much tougher go of it so far in conference play, but Dean Weiner has been great (when he stays out of foul trouble) and Sam Jefferson has continued to score it well. Alex Dorion has come on of late adding some additional three point shooting and actually leads the league in three point percentage. Would like to see him continue to get more minutes. Colby will have to shoot it well from deep and give another defensive effort like last week against Trinity. Would be nice to see Hanna get it going.

A Colby win would set up a weird CBB tie, where each team is 2-0 against one rival and 0-2 vs the other.

[nescac1]

Article discussing Ryan Moon's commitment to Williams, as well as his relationship with Aaron Toomey.  Moon was recently named as a McDonald's All-American nominee for North Carolina.

http://www.journalnow.com/sports/prepzone/prep-notebook-prep-athletics-postponed-friday-because-of-inclement-weather/article_ff957f3c-d928-533b-ba6e-bc1f5d65dddd.html

With two seniors PGs graduating, PG is by far the biggest question mark on next year's Williams team, which looks like it will be ridiculously loaded with scorers (Karp, Heskett, Scadlock, Casey, plus some other guys who may be ready to emerge), but utterly lacking in proven distributiors.  Hopefully Moon can be in the mix to fill the role of primary ballhandler, along with some young guards on this year's roster who have yet to show what they can do ...

Senior Ryan Moon of Bishop McGuinness has decided to play college basketball at Williams College.

Williams is a non-scholarship Division III school in Williamstown, Mass. Coach Josh Thompson of McGuinness said that other than Williams, Moon was recruited by Amherst and Johns Hopkins.

Through 17 games this season, Moon is averaging 11 points and 7 assists per game.

"Williams, after he visited them and thought about all of his options, he felt like Williams was the best fit for him," Thompson said. "And he was familiar with that conference (New England Small College Athletic Conference) and how good they are because of Aaron Toomey (played at McGuinness) playing up at Amherst.

"Aaron talked him through and really helped him with the process."

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

"Aaron talked him through and really helped him with the process."

I.E. ... "dude, just come here. I don't know why you wouldn't come here. We actually have a chance of winning championships." LOL

[nescac1]

Yeah, true, neither Amherst nor Williams is a particularly tough sell for hoops, no doubt -- unless you are trying to convince a guy to pass up an Ivy offer or a D1 scholarship, which very rarely succeeds (but not never, see Jovan Jones this year ...). 

[toad22]

"Aaron talked him through and really helped him with the process."

I.E. ... "dude, just come here. I don't know why you wouldn't come here. We actually have a chance of winning championships." LOL

If it were only that easy to get players!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

"Aaron talked him through and really helped him with the process."

I.E. ... "dude, just come here. I don't know why you wouldn't come here. We actually have a chance of winning championships." LOL

If it were only that easy to get players!

Oh... it totally is... don't let coaches fool you. They drum up all these ridiculous excuses and stories about the recruiting trails and how hard it all is... especially at tough institutions. It isn't that hard... it is cake. Call the SA... tell them to come to them... give a simple reason... done. Slam dunk.





... is something I wouldn't say. LOL

[TheHerst2and4]

Video of Heskett's clutch late three to put the Ephs up five JUST as the shot clock expires ...

https://twitter.com/howardherman/status/953812629717438464

*JUST after the shot clock expired

If you break it down frame by frame the ball is still in his hands when the clock strikes zero. Before anyone gets too upset, I'm just messing around with nescac1, he's a well respected poster on these boards who always offers fair analysis. In a tight game without D1/NBA style replay really hard to get that one right, I don't blame the refs for letting that one go. It was a great clutch shot and a dagger in our purple hearts.

As others said, another classic Amherst-Williams game, looking forward to the rematch.

[amh63]

Me too!  Have missed your posts on this board, The Hearst .  Glad you are still keeping up with the BB team. 

[amh63]

Back again.  Just blew up the pic provided by The Herst2and4.  See that The Herst still has his Hawkeye.  Plus K to him.
For the newer posters here, I have followed TheHerst on both the football field and the hardwood floor.  His "handle" reflect his jersey numbers in those sports where he was a Captain.  His basketball skills and leadership helped his MBB team win a National Title.

[lumbercat]

Article discussing Ryan Moon's commitment to Williams, as well as his relationship with Aaron Toomey.  Moon was recently named as a McDonald's All-American nominee for North Carolina.

http://www.journalnow.com/sports/prepzone/prep-notebook-prep-athletics-postponed-friday-because-of-inclement-weather/article_ff957f3c-d928-533b-ba6e-bc1f5d65dddd.html

With two seniors PGs graduating, PG is by far the biggest question mark on next year's Williams team, which looks like it will be ridiculously loaded with scorers (Karp, Heskett, Scadlock, Casey, plus some other guys who may be ready to emerge), but utterly lacking in proven distributiors.  Hopefully Moon can be in the mix to fill the role of primary ballhandler, along with some young guards on this year's roster who have yet to show what they can do ...

Senior Ryan Moon of Bishop McGuinness has decided to play college basketball at Williams College.

Williams is a non-scholarship Division III school in Williamstown, Mass. Coach Josh Thompson of McGuinness said that other than Williams, Moon was recruited by Amherst and Johns Hopkins.

Through 17 games this season, Moon is averaging 11 points and 7 assists per game.

"Williams, after he visited them and thought about all of his options, he felt like Williams was the best fit for him," Thompson said. "And he was familiar with that conference (New England Small College Athletic Conference) and how good they are because of Aaron Toomey (played at McGuinness) playing up at Amherst.

"Aaron talked him through and really helped him with the process."

Good recruiting story for the Willies but Aaron Toomey may want to have someone else start his car......just kidding. A great NESCAC story.

Theres been a gradual but very steady move to the the NESCAC schools in recent years from areas outside the Northeast and the Eastern US.  There's  no question the NESCAC has grown exponentially in national prestige in recent years. The NECAC is becoming more well known and the value placed on the academic excellence in areas where they wouldn't even consider a CAC school in the past has changed significantly.

National recruiting has been made easier and more feasible with the growth and expansion of camps and clinics along with the evolution of social media.

But make no mistake, at the end of the day, "NEED" is a subjective and flexible term.....the financial aid packages these days, especially at the higher endowed institutions are mind boggling compared with bygone days. The biggest factor in Football and Basketball recruiting successes today in the CAC is the level of the "Need Based" financial aid packages being awarded. This has gone a long way toward neutralizing the D1/D2 scholorship advantage in the past.

All good for the NESCAC.

[nescac1]

Very glad to see this update on former Eph Tae Scott (scroll down):

http://d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/2017-18/gibbs-barkley-abroad

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

Very glad to see this update on former Eph Tae Scott (scroll down):

http://d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/2017-18/gibbs-barkley-abroad

Why scroll down? It is a good article to read.

[Colby Hoops]

Dean Weiner not playing for Colby. Out with an apparent injury. That's a big problem for the Mules. Going to need to shoot the lights out from deep to have a chance against Bowdoin.

[jayhawk]

With 8 minutes to go in game against Hamilton, Amherst is leading by 30 points
The game came together for Amherst today  lots of depth , attacking basket
good playmaking, drivng to hoop and big men playing well
Today Amherst looks big and deep.
Game by game will tell if the Mammoth can continue to build on this

[Greek Tragedy]

Aw man! My Jumbos go down to Bates! That hurts.