MBB: NESCAC

[Mountain Man]

Analysis of Amherst-Springfield has to account for the previous Williams game for Springfield.

Williams game was Jake Ross' second game back from injury. 4 points first half, 20 points second half.
Springfield gave a complete effort in a 75-71 loss. 
Very hard to get up in the same emotional vein two games in a row when the first game is the one you circled

Amherst takes advantage of the emotional letdown of the Williams loss to blitz Springfield 45-27 in first half.
Amherst knows Springfield is best team they have played to date. Amherst accepts the challenge from the tip.
To me the better indication of Amherst current competitive situation is the Babson loss at home with 4 days of rest before and a cupcake scheduled for two days later. Babson won both halves .. final 68-55.

I see Wesleyan & Amherst as comparable...

[Old Guy]

I'm left wondering what Middlebury has to do to get all those early season home games that other's seem to find.  Pitt-Bradford is a long bus ride.

Not be located in rural Vermont.

Play more than one game (10 total!) against NESCAC teams!

. . . which leaves Midd (especially) scrambling to find 15 games against worthy opponents!

Often citing "conference obligations," natural nearby programs have dropped us, including Norwich! Castleton! and Colby Sawyer— and all of the Liberty League except Skidmore (Thank you, Thoroughbreds!). 

Midd travels on Dec 30 to Philadelphia to play Swarthmore, who beat the Panthers by ten in our gym last year. Good team. Another long bus ride.


Ain't fair!

[toad22]

Old Guy, I feel your pain. Many programs don't want to play us (Middlebury & Williams). Some kind of change in league play to produce 15-16 league games would be welcomed by me. 20 games is too many.

[polbear73]

Old Guy, I feel your pain. Many programs don't want to play us (Middlebury & Williams). Some kind of change in league play to produce 15-16 league games would be welcomed by me. 20 games is too many.

You could divide into divisions like baseball and play divisional teams twice and teams in the other division once each.  The problem is that NESCAC has an odd number of teams for basketball, (baseball is even), and that makes it tricky. 

[nescac1]

For reasons discussed here and previously it's very hard to figure out a way to make two divisions work in NESCAC.  There are lots of issues: the uneven number of the teams, the CBB and Little Three rivalries that programs would not want to break up, not geographically obvious way to make it work, and the fact that the best programs tend to be clustered in the western half of the NESCAC, geographically, so it might be competitively very imbalanced (imagine there year if there was a CBB/Tufts/Conn division, which is one way that it could be split up). 

But I wonder why more NESCAC schools don't have regularly-scheduled informal, non-league games against other NESCAC teams, similar to the CBB / Little 3 games?  For example, I'd love to see a Midd-Williams non-league game each year, and I think it would be in the best interests of both schools.  Hamilton-Midd, Hamilton-Williams, Amherst-Tufts, Tufts-Bowdoin, Wesleyan-Conn-Trinity are other examples of match-ups that would make sense.  The Little Three and CBB play 12 NESCAC opponents per year, which I think is close to ideal ... adding 1-2 more would make it perfect in my view.  20 NESCAC games is definitely way to many, but 10 league games and 3-4 non-league NESCAC games would still leave room for 10-11 out of conference games, which strikes me as the ideal amount.  Nothing is stopping other NESCAC schools from doing the same thing, informally, that CBB / Little Three do, although probably Hamilton, Colby and Bates would have the toughest time doing so. 

[JEFFFAN]

Analysis of Amherst-Springfield has to account for the previous Williams game for Springfield.

Williams game was Jake Ross' second game back from injury. 4 points first half, 20 points second half.
Springfield gave a complete effort in a 75-71 loss. 
Very hard to get up in the same emotional vein two games in a row when the first game is the one you circled

Amherst takes advantage of the emotional letdown of the Williams loss to blitz Springfield 45-27 in first half.
Amherst knows Springfield is best team they have played to date. Amherst accepts the challenge from the tip.
To me the better indication of Amherst current competitive situation is the Babson loss at home with 4 days of rest before and a cupcake scheduled for two days later. Babson won both halves .. final 68-55.

I see Wesleyan & Amherst as comparable...

I have no doubt whatsoever that Williams is the better team over Amherst this year - more experienced, deeper, older - but this is a copout analysis.   There were three days between games, plenty of time to rest up, both games at home.   In analyzing Amherst, you opt to pick the loss and not the best win?  Fair?

[nescac1]

Yeah, have to agree with Jefffan here, I have no doubt that Springfield was fired up for the Amherst game, and the Amherst and Williams wins over Springfield should be accorded equal weight.  I think Springfield's seemingly discongruous results, both this year and last year, and sometimes within the course of a single game, can be attributed to the fact that the team is SO top-heavy with talent.  When Jake Ross is 100 percent, which he generally has not been for most of the first semester the last two seasons, he is the best player in the country, good enough to carry a team to victory nearly on his own.  Heath Post is a borderline all-American, an elite two-way guy, and an overqualfied second option.  When Cam Earl has it going, he is a major weapon with his shooting, but when he doesn't, he offers very little.  The rest of the team is basically role guys.  When Earl is hitting 3s and Ross and Post are both playing their A games, Springfield's top-line talent is enough to be competitive with anyone.  But if two of those three guys are off, Springfield can look terrible.

Hence, in the first half of the Williams game, Springfield looked really bad -- Ross didn't play especially well, and Earl was way off.  Williams did not play well either, missing a lot of easy opportunities, and were still up by 13 (should have been 20).  In the second half of that game, Earl played a bit better and Ross and Post brought their A (in Post's case, A plus) games, and Springfield was the better team for sure that half.  If Heskett and Casey didn't bring their A games for Williams in that half as well, the Ephs would have lost. 

[amh63]

Interesting topic "creeping in"...scheduling.  Have several comments.
The Little Three plays each other twice each year....with only one game counting in the conference standings. 
The league likes to play back to back games...Friday-Sat....that helps in the post season, imho.
A number of schools run early season tourneys with back to back games and others go to tourneys.
Yes, the success of CAC teams has made it difficult to schedule games with nearby geography located solid opponents.  Amherst used to play WPI in the town next door, so to speak.  Now any game is via the post-season it seems.  Amherst would schedule ECSU and RIC yearly.  Now only ESCU remains on the schedule.  It is to be noted that ECSU and RIC HBC were Hamilton grads...when RIC's coach move on/up, the annual game was gone.
In a Hoopsville online broadcast, the Amherst WBB HC "G"...my codename for him ...mentioned the scheduling problem...as schools would drop the three time Nat. champs.  This year as in the past, Amherst's WBB team goes to Las Vegas for back to back games, followed with two games on the West Coast afterwards.  Tough schedule and traveling....but it seems to help in the post season.  Oh yes, Amherst lost to ECSU this season and Amherst dropped from its top spot in the polls.
Old Guy...maybe you and Midd's HC can look into renewing old rival games.  I will state that for the Little Three schools, the "titles" that they shoot for yearly are...the Little Three, the Nescac and the Nat. title.  Yes, a challenge and a hard road...a little like the " gold brick road".

[lumbercat]

This post was inspired by my favorite basketball media member Zach Lowe's weekly column for ESPN of things that he likes and doesn't like in NBA action. I know we try to stay mostly positive on this blog so I have strayed away from too much negativity in this piece. Lastly, I apologize for any statistical errors. I've chipped away at this over the past two weeks and any stats could be a little outdated. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and happy holidays. GO 'CAC!

8 Things Concerning The 'CAC:

(1)Strahorn's Dedication To Getting 'Em Up

One of the crazier games I've watched in the the first semester was when Colby made the trip to UMaine-Farmington. First off, I have such an ernest and true affection for small, old-school D3 facilities and when you take all of what UMF has going for it into account - one sided bleachers, close walls concrete wall both behind the hoops and team benches, old town fans that have in all likelihood been fighting frigid Maine wintery roads for decades to cheer on their Beavers, real basketball history with people like Steve Clifford calling it home, etc etc etc -- Dearborn Gym fits the bill. The game was set up to be bizzare from the jump when UMF decided to play the entire first half in a 2-3 zone. The Mules have Head Coach Damien Strahorn's permission to launch 3s against man-to-man defensive schemes that are daring them to drive to the paint. Against a 2-3 zone that invites the 3? Forget about it. Sam Jefferson, Matt Hanna, Noah Tyson and anyone else in black were launching from everywhere. Perhaps the most telling description of the commitment to the 3 for the Mules was that when Alex Dorion and Sean Gilmore made the game's first substitution at the 14:57 mark, the only two point field goal attempted by the Mules had been an offensive rebound put back by Noah Tyson off of a missed 3.

While watching the helter skelter long range bombing that was Colby's offensive strategy against UMF, I assumed it must have been more than usual for a team that I knew going into the game lived and died by the 3, but it really wasn't. Their 15-35 accuracy from 3 against UMF was just a smidgeon above their average makes (13.5) and attempts (32.7) per a game on the season. Twice they have already attempted more than 40 per a game. While it is crazy to watch and I share some of Gregg Popovich's grumpy-old-man bitterness about the evolution of the 3 ball within basketball, I also very much respect that Strahorn has made this new-school way of playing the identity of his teams and is sticking to it even through the past two years of losing. It may be easy to forget, but Strahorn didn't always play like this. When the Colby Class of 2016 (Hudnut, Westman, Jann, Wilson, Stewart - a special class destined to be a serious contender but due to injuries and some misfortune ultimately was never able to get over the hump) was around they didn't shoot many at all. In their final three years on campus from 2014 to 2016 they ranked 8th, 6th and 7th in the NESCAC in 3 pointers attempted per a game. If you count this current season, what has their ranking been since the Class of 2016 left Waterville? 1st each season, and, if you were wondering, by a pretty healthy margin.

Regardless of whether you agree with the offensive strategy or not (For the record, despite not liking it, I do...it's math), you have to respect Strahorn's perseverance. The losing has been wholesome the last two years, and it would be easy for a head coach to blink and return to a more conventional style. He hasn't though, and if they can land a couple more of the right players that can shoot 3s like this but also play defense at a high NESCAC level (too bad Jann is gone, he would have been perfect on this team), this ship could be turned around quickly. They are 8-2 going into a good ole' D3 near month winter recess (does Strahorn own a place in Florida? Seems like some Bob Shelton scheduling going on here), and while I am still skeptical of their defensive capabilities with so many small guards and no serious rim protection, I am intrigued how they will do come conference play. With so much shooting and such a high offensive ceiling, I do know that if they can sneak into the NESCAC tournament, I sure as hell wouldn't want to play them in the first round.

Side Note #1: Referenced Pop hating the 3 ball. For those who wanted to see it - https://ftw.usatoday.com/2018/11/san-antonio-spurs-gregg-popovich-hates-three-pointers

Side Note #2: Follow-up to my "Bob Shelton scheduling" comment, I really like Shelton. I think he is nothing short of a NESCAC legend. I just always thought it was funny that he would have these month long breaks from the season around winter break when D1, D2, and even some D3s often get less than a week or even a just a day or two off.

(2) The Emergence of Farrell

   I was finally able to watch Middlebury as I saw them play both Keene State and Plattsburgh State - two really good teams each led by All-American talent (Ty Nichols and Jonathan Patron are so fun to watch in incredibly different ways). While some of my reservations still hold true about the Panthers, I do feel more confident that they are in a good place simply due to the jump that Jack Ferrell has made since last year. The competitive nature that made Jack Daly so valuable to the team was what I was worried might be missing in Vermont this year (yes, even more so than his gaudy near triple-double stats). However, Ferrell very quickly proved to me that he has that competitive nature in full. The foundation of everything for him is the "it" that I didn't know he had until watching these two games. Some of his other seemingly natural ability such as his ridiculous end-to-end speed and knack around the hoop are great, but it is his grittiness on defense and continuous efforts that have him as a top 5 player in the NESCAC in my mind up to this point. Sometimes he is out of control and his decision-making will need to continue to improve, but he is a perfect leader for the next three years for Middlebury's trademarked frantic offensive pace.

   My concerns more lie in the rest of the team as we near conference play. Folger has a cut out role that he will fill well as a second offensive fiddle (I think Ferrell's emergence will really help him as he can hunt more catch-and-shoot opportunities off of JF's barrage of attacks), solid rebounder, rim protector, and senior leader, but I am interested what is next. Bosco has obviously been great early on as instant offense off of the bench (15.3 ppg on 48/35/85), but I'm not sure if this will last into conference play. He's taking and making a lot of tough ones right now. A second half of the year scouting report and even a couple more inches of length could really affect his percentages. I like Kornaker's game more, particularly next to the whirlwind that is Ferrell, as he can really pass and seems to be a good floor general with size. I don't know if you can get away against the top of the league playing three guard line-ups with those two and any combination of Bosco, Leighton, or Goldman. DeLorenzo can get hot and has a little more size, but he isn't great on defense and hasn't shown much off of the bounce. I think Dahleh is going to have to be a huge utility guy on the wing for them if they want to be a serious contender. He's proven he can be effective in the past, but I haven't loved how he has looked so far this season on either end of the ball. McCord is good in his role and I really like Sobel as a freshman, but I just don't know if they have it on the wings.
   

(3) Jeff Spellman in transition


This guy is flat out fun in the open court. He just has all of the finishes a smaller guard needs in his "bag". Finishing around the hoop is such a feel thing. You have to know when to challenge guys and when to go around them. When to try to draw a foul or when to ignore the contact and finish. It is a subtle intricacy of the game that is hard to know if you don't play and even harder to learn if you do. Spellman seems like one of those players that has better touch around the hoop with his off hand as he is never afraid to re-navigate in the paint back to his left when needed. He had two lefty finishes in their loss to Maine Maritime (sorry to bring it up Bobcat fans) that I still remember where the degree of difficulty was astronomical and Spellman made it look pedestrian. What really separates Spellman is that while he has the finesse, he also has the ability to long stride it and rise up as well. I haven't seen him have any dunks yet this year, but anyone who saw him in high school knows it is there. In their last game versus Colby, he had a beautiful righty finger roll late that reminded that he is still one of the premier vertical athletes in the league. All in all, along with Zavier Rucker, Spellman is as good as it gets in the 'CAC in transition.

The issue is that there is obviously a lot more to the game than transition (particularly when you are having trouble getting stops like Bates uncharacteristically is this year. Historically a very good defensive team under Furbush, they are currently 9th in the league in points allowed per a game at 75.2). I thought Spellman looked like a bonafide NESCAC star at times last year. While his overall statistics weren't necessarily ALL-NESCAC level by the end of the season, he had games - 38 points on 16-25 from floor versus a not very good University of New England team and 24 points on 8-14 versus a very very good Williams College team being the two biggest outliers - where he reached a level that not too many 'CAC underclassman have reached in the last decade. The 2018-2019 campaign has been a different story. This season he is settling for way too many long twos, being careless with the ball, and, perhaps worst, is looking a bit disinterested at times. I preseason ranked Bates last in the conference, even below Conn, so I'm not too surprised that things are rough in L-A. However, that basement ranking was assuming that Spellman would take another step forward or, at the least, replicate his sophomore campaign. If he doesn't pick his play up, I worry the Bobcats might not only finish last but could end up winning less games than they have this entire century so far.

Side Note #3: Any disgustingly-nerdy D3 basketball fan should watch St. Joe's College of ME this year, perhaps when they play Bowdoin in January. I've always greatly respected Rob Sanicola, and think he is one of the best coaches in New England. St. Joe's, a school that has a deep basketball tradition and has had some fantastic players come through its doors, has struggled to recruit the same caliber player these days (for a number of reasons, I assume). For a decade or so they had a great pipeline of players from upstate New York (where Sanicola is from) who always seemed to blossom into stars. Nowadays, they are usually stocked with less athletic and under-recruited New Englanders, but Sanicola always seems to get more out of them than you would expect. I watched them absolutely carve up Bates with really impressive side-to-side ball movement, back-cuts, and overall crisp motion offense. Fun to watch.

Side Note #4:I know we mostly try to keep it positive on the blog, and, after re-reading this section, I feel like I neglected some silver linings for Bates. First off, the new floor and other renovations (looked like new bleachers, some fan section work, and a reversal of the team benches to how they used to be) at Alumni Gym look awesome! I'm very happy they didn't build a new gym and instead put money into fixing that place up because it is still my favorite place to watch a game in D3 basketball. Second, they hopefully will get Tom Coyne back soon which would help a lot. They lack a serious shooting threat right now, and Coyne is undoubtedly a great shooter. Perhaps even more important though, he's an experienced, vocal leader on a team that seems to be currently missing that. I also like senior Brandon Galloway who seems to be working his way into the rotation as a tough perimeter defender. I don't remember him from the past, but I think the Bates coaching staff would be smart to increase his minutes over some other wing options. Last but certainly not least, I've really been impressed with Andrew Snoddy and definitely think he is in the top 5 freshman discussion. Long, athletic (had a very effortless 2 hands, 2 feet dunk off of an elbow dive early against SJC), and skilled. Not sure what he will develop into when it is all said and done, but he has a really nice foundation. 

(4) Update From My Last Write-Up

Tufts isn't fun anymore ....

Side Note #6: Damn it.

D3HforLyfe-
Really enjoyed your insights and comments here on the Bates program. You really know your stuff.

It hasn't gone well for the Bobcats so far. This is not going to be one of their better years but they will get better. They need Coyne back along with 6'8" Paplani also who will take some minutes from Lynch and keep him fresh for late in games. They are a terrible shooting team, they need Coyne badly.

[Mountain Man]

I have no doubt whatsoever that Williams is the better team over Amherst this year - more experienced, deeper, older - but this is a copout analysis.   There were three days between games, plenty of time to rest up, both games at home.   In analyzing Amherst, you opt to pick the loss and not the best win?  Fair?

My analysis was in response to D3HforLyfe asserting that Amherst would be 2nd best team at end of season behind Williams. So yes I did focus on the Jeff's loss because of what I mentioned. Williams also challenged Springfield physically for 40 minutes which weakened them for that first half against the Jeffs.  TWO days between games and the 3rd game back for Ross who is All American quality and one man gang... So yes not fair to focus on the just the loss but i didn't. I compared it to their win which I felt had some mitaging factors being Ross' third game back after 3 week injury and 2nd game in 4 night after being challenged physically by Williams. Proven by his 8-24 0-6 from 3 line against Amherst although I do love the Jeffs defensive intensity...

My point was and is that Amherst is not better than Hamilton and will not be better than Hamilton..this season.
Someone on this board has to defend Hamilton. They are extremely talented. You all give them credit as having best player in Gilmour
Middlebury, Wesleyan & Amherst comprise my next group. Very similar.

[Mountain Man]

D3HforLyfe   .....    How BOUT Dem CARDNIALS....   Great Win... Great Trip.  Congrats!!!

Parity Parity Parity.   Defense makes results unpredictable   Kudos to Dave McHugh ...  His call...

[maineman]

D3HforLyfe   .....    How BOUT Dem CARDNIALS....   Great Win... Great Trip.  Congrats!!!

Parity Parity Parity.   Defense makes results unpredictable   Kudos to Dave McHugh ...  His call...

You have to be careful when mentioning the Cardinals.  That is Plattsburgh's mascot, too.

Comparatively speaking, Wesleyan topped Plattsburgh by 11 while Midd lost the same team by 9.  What does that say about the pecking order in the NESCAC.

Midd won both of its I-90 games, but struggled greatly from the charity stripe.  They need to clean that up soon or Swarthmore and the top half of the NESCAC will easily defeat them.

[Old Guy]

That certainly is a nice win for Wes.

I watched yesterday's Middlebury game against Hilbert and was pleased with the outcome. There was no sound with the video, nor any indication of the time in the game — but that's okay: half the time I watch these away games with the sound off. That way, I can't complain here about the announcers, who are often more distracting than enlightening (with the clear exception of Bruce Bosley, Midd's NSN stalwart).

When I tuned in about 5 minutes in, Midd was ahead 20-7, and I thought we were headed for a laugher, but Hilbert came back like gangbusters to lead at the half 49-47, a shootout. We couldn't stop them, as much good O as bad D as far as I could tell. They had a couple of guards who went hard to the hoop (Martineau, Phillips) and a big guy (Parucki - 28 points, 10-20) who could shoot.

Hilbert was ahead by 12 with about 7 minutes to go in the game, and appeared very much in control. But . . . Griffin Kornaker hit long 3s on successive possessions to cut the lead in half just like that, and Middlebury played well down the stretch. Middlebury won the first and fourth quarters of the game, Hilbert the middle half. I thought Hilbert looked like a worthy club, but I see that they're only 4-8.

This was clearly Kornaker's best game to date (17 points), a welcome performance, as he has seemed quite deferential offensively so far while nonetheless playing long minutes. Farrell was off for most of the game, but played well down the stretch when the game was on the line (15 points on 5-12 shooting, 5-9 from the line, 6 assists).

Folger was outstanding! 26 points (5-8 from three), 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, a nice line. He hit big shot after big shot. McCord had another good game: 11 points (5-7), 12 rebounds. Dahleh had 10 points as all Midd starters were in double figures. Leighton provided a lift off the bench with 10 points (2-4 from three).

A good win, coming back from a significant late deficit. Now the players get a bit of a rest before heading to Philly and Swarthmore on 12/30.

[nescac1]

I've noticed that Wesleyan has evolved into playing a really young rotation -- they now start three sophomores and a frosh, and have two frosh as their top two perimeter players off the bench (including Shackylle Dezonie, an athletic wing from New Jersey from a big-time program who has emerged it seems as the Cards' sixth man after starting the year out with, I assume, an injury).  A third frosh, Sam Peek, has also seen consistent minutes.  Outside of Bonner, the Wesleyan upperclassmen who see time aren't providing much scoring at all.  So Wesleyan is a team that could be a lot better in February than it is in December, and certainly has a bright future as all those young athletic players mature, led by Hutcherson, who will be an all-American.  But I'd also expect some growing pains, relying on so many young guys in key roles. 

*****

Here are some links that will probably interest only Williams fans, so anyone else can tune out!  The Eph athletics Youtube site has some great old Eph hoops videos uploaded.  A few of my favorites from days of yore:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDzAeWn9REc&t=258s (highlights from the 2010 Guilford game, the single best display of shooting I've ever seen from a NESCAC team, as you can tell from the reactions of the Guilford players)

A two-part season recap from 1997-98, the second part in particular has some Nogelo highlights that remind me that he could do anything he wanted on a basketball court, shooting from everywhere on the floor, passing, driving, dunking, posting-up (that was a team that made the Final Four with basically Nogelo, one elite shooter, and a bunch of hard-working grinders who played their roles perfectly):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dAKpFzVJqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piMVOKfzXI4&t=367s

Recap of the 2003 championship season:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXy9Hj_ng9c

the Tucker Kain game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSpqIoAmzCA

And the 2004 win over Holy Cross (and that Coffin dunk was just as epic as I recall!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-cQLneOPX8

[JEFFFAN]

Any interest in naming an all-NESCAC team since inception during this down period?  Only since the NESCAC started, although it might be interesting to even go back further.

In terms of the ranking of the programs based on regular season titles and , that one is pretty easy at this point ...