MBB: NESCAC

Colby Hoops · December 30, 2019, 10:07:39 AM

Quote from: nescac1 on December 29, 2019, 02:40:24 PM
Cole Prowitt-Smith was simply awesome for the Ephs, with 28 points and 4 boards. Only 1 assist, but frankly he should have had more like 4-5 if guys had converted off some good looks. He had a ferocious two-handed jam while getting fouled, some really tough deep step-back 3's and long 2's (a lost art for the latter!), aggressive drives into the lane, and a tremendous charge drawn. He keeps getting better.

Cole Prowitt-Smith is so good, you just don't see his athleticism as a guard very much at this level. Still learning on the go and sometimes tries to do more than he should, but he'll be one of the best players in the league as soon as next year.

middhoops · December 30, 2019, 08:34:24 PM

Maybe I found the wrong portal but my attempt to watch the Amherst game was met with a requirement to "sign up" for a subscription.
Anyone find a way around that?

gordonmann · December 30, 2019, 08:57:41 PM

Trinity had the same thing when I tried to watch the end of the Babson/Eastern Connecticut game being held there.

I understand the desire to monetize, collect data or whatever. But, when you make it hard to watch a game, the most likely result is what I did. I just go do something else.

Vandy74 · December 30, 2019, 09:14:42 PM

Quote from: gordonmann on December 30, 2019, 08:57:41 PM
Trinity had the same thing when I tried to watch the end of the Babson/Eastern Connecticut game being held there.

I understand the desire to monetize, collect data or whatever. But, when you make it hard to watch a game, the most likely result is what I did. I just go do something else.

It was only midway through the first half when I tried to watch the Babson game so I went through the motions of signing up. My reward was an endlessly buffering video stream along with a total picture quality meltdown. I had succeeded in signing up for a nifty newsletter though.

gordonmann · December 30, 2019, 09:22:56 PM

Ha. Plus K

amh63 · December 31, 2019, 09:33:21 AM

Did a lot of looking in on a lot of games. The Amherst's games at the Naples' community school/center facility did charge.....so I took the gordonmann approach. Would check the "stats" every so often.
Grant Robinson seems to be OK....even his outside shots went in. Key for me is that Amherst is holding down their TO's.
Amherst's senior big man Sellew was missing!? Several young front court players got time; including the 6'10" FY from Deerfield Academy/Prep. Lots of tall Nescac players in the conference games ahead...so fruitful game experience is vital for Amherst's younger front court players.
Fresh snow on the ground at Amherst today. Enjoyed your post Middwatcher....plus K

JEFFFAN · December 31, 2019, 11:22:36 AM

Nice to see Grant Robinson seem to be rounding into form. Also nice to see Michael Schretter have such a strong game - I think the first game of that caliber for him since he arrived. Now let the NESCAC competition begin!

MiddWatcher · December 31, 2019, 11:59:51 AM

And I went to the radio version from the U. Whitewater link .... enjoyable to listen to a ballgame instead of fighting through a webcast - although many have improved markedly in past few years. Adult announcer at Claremont Mudd-Scripps home games, for example, is excellent. Thankfully, most college age students are no longer on the web scene. And it was a great day to watch D3. Johns Hopkins struggled mightily at Stevens ( certainly raised Midd's stock ), surprised to see Emory look relatively beatable - although they are a very strong team. Kudos to Guilford. Eastern Conn had a throwback game to the past few seasons in win over Babson - and looked good doing it. Amherst, yes, very impressive ! Wittenberg is as consistent as they come .... seems like they never change. I recall coaching in that gym over 25 years ago and it could be the same guys ..... And always Good ! All in all, as many have said, it will be a wide open national picture and the NESCACs have a great shot, IMO, at making some noise. Won't pick one out ( or even 3 or 4 ! ). The NESCAC is strong this year. Will be quite a race. Would be remiss not to mention Tufts flying cross country to two impressive wins on the West Coast, as well. Midd ? Well, Folger and Kornaker are back and practicing at full speed. The overrall lineup should continue to push the pace ( it is an insidious aspect of basketball over a 40 minute game ) and guys who are excellent players continue to shine even though their numbers may be down a bit. ( I know .... sample size ! ). Remarkably, since he became a starter mid season a year ago, Bosco is 26 - 97 .268 % shooting threes - yet who would not want him taking a three to decide a game ? I know I would. Farrell is ninth on the team ( !! ) in Points per Possession; yet dynamite in every aspect of the game. DeLorenzo is 20 - 22 .910 % vs. Amherst, Hamilton, Williams ( three NCAA teams from a year ago ) and Endicott ( a Good team ) and Stevens over past two seasons - - and barely cracks the lineup. He is also #1 on team in Points per Possession. Yes, Middlebury is interesting. Next two months will be fun.

Colby Hoops · January 03, 2020, 02:36:06 PM

Hamilton down in the first half to Utica, but the good news is that Sayo Denloye is back. Limited minutes so far, but good news for the Conts.

nescac1 · January 03, 2020, 02:57:43 PM

Hamilton seems very deep and very balanced behind Kena. But playing 13 guys in the first half of a competitive game seems unhelpful! Definitely need to figure out a rotation. Were it me, I'd stick with Cooper, Denloye, Conn, Lutz in the backcourt, Kena, Kendall, Osarenren, Mogan and Anderson up front. Nine guys is plenty. Tough break for the other 3-4 guys who have been very productive, but I just don't see the logic in going 12-13 deep (unless you play like Whitman).

middhoops · January 03, 2020, 04:05:50 PM

Did Utica actually shoot 59 free throws?

nescac1 · January 03, 2020, 04:08:14 PM

I believe Utica was indeed 48-59 from the line. Holy cow! About 10-12 of those shots seemed to come on intentional fouls late when Hamilton was mounting a comeback, but still, wow. Not sure if terrible defense, terrible refereeing, or a combination, but that has to be some kind of record in a non-OT game, right?

With Midd and Colby cruising today, those two undefeated squads will remain the only two NESCAC squads without at least two losses so far ...

Colby Hoops · January 03, 2020, 04:27:54 PM

I only watched a few minutes of the Hamilton game, but the refs were calling it VERY tight. A lot of touch fouls that rarely go called. Denloye also went down with an injured foot/ankle late in the game, not sure if he returned.

Colby on their way to beating an outclassed Maine Maritime team. Pretty sloppy game for the Mules -- to be expected after a long break. Bad news from the game is that Wallace Tucker left with (what I'm assuming is an injury) and I haven't seen him on the bench for the second half. Hopefully nothing serious as his ability to get to the rim is critical for the Mules.

SpringSt7 · January 03, 2020, 05:07:08 PM

The free throw numbers are obviously not ideal, but neither is allowing a team to shoot 53% from the field, the vast majority of those being twos. Hamilton isn't going to have the offense they had the last few years so they are really going to need to up the defense if they want to stay near the top of the league.

In unrelated news, Middlebury and Springfield both took care of business today which means they will play tomorrow, a game I'm very excited for. Middlebury has NESCAC size but they don't have the prototypical size at the wing that Jake Ross is used to seeing when he plays Williams, Amherst, and Trinity. I would imagine it'll be Folger on Heath Post but I don't have much of a guess on who guards Ross. He could be in for a big, big game, and with Middlebury's offense and Springfield's less than stellar defense, this should be a shootout. Either way, definitely one to tune in for.

Bucket · January 03, 2020, 08:36:21 PM

In Springfield for two days of Midd hoops . . . the best assist, as far as I'm concerned, came post-game on Friday, courtesy of Coach Rob Kornaker.

After the win over Colby-Sawyer, Little Bucket and I returned to our car to discover a flat tire. I managed to jack the car up and get the damaged tire off, but was struggling to get the spare on when Coach K came to our rescue. Griff offered to help, but I wouldn't let him near the vehicle. "Hey coach, I got hurt changing our ballboy's dad's tire." Uh, no. Wasn't gonna happen.

Coach Kornaker went above and beyond, and I fear that he, Mrs. K, and Griff were woefully late to dinner. Little Bucket and I are exceedingly grateful. Talk about plus-Karma. May Griff be blessed w/ 10 assists against Springfield . . .