MBB: NESCAC

[JEFFFAN]

Jefffan....if you get to read this post prior to the Williams game in LeFrak, I would like for you to say Hi to two old friends for me.  I shared their company several times in Salem Va.  Saw them sitting by the Amherst players entrance to the locker room...first row.  One, wearing a purple sweater was a great player for Amherst...class of '64...who has a son that was a fine player for Trinity.  The other person, also an alum, helped in getting the Hamilton WBB HC to Amherst.  The HC of the Hamilton WBB team sought advice.  The "other person" was a trustee of Hamilton at the time .
Also, Jefffan....Hannah Fox of the WBB team is also a star lacrosse player and may be from a place near you in Pa.
Old Guy, thanks for the kind words...but I am not a person to be around when watching close games.  Believe the things that helped Amherst win over Midd yesterday were in not any order ..depth, less TOs and team defense.  Amherst has the speed/quickness to slow down the fine guards of Midd. Expect to see Midd again in the Nescac Tourny...hopefully in LeFrak .

Hannah Fox graduated from my alma mater and that of my three sons.   She's a terrific basketball player and even better at lacrosse.    Terrific young athlete!  Penn Charter is the alma mater of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and his cousin, Frank McGlinchy, who is the starting right tackle for the SF 49ers!

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

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[SpringSt7]

So to recap: Wesleyan beats Amherst at the start of the week, but drops two league games at home to Tufts and Bates. Amherst gives Midd their first loss of the season by double digits, but loses to Wesleyan and Williams. Williams blows a 15 point lead to Hamilton in heartbreaking fashion, and then goes into Amherst without their best shot creator/second leading scorer to win in the regular season for the first time in 10 years. Midd bounces back and beats Hamilton on the last play of the game with their frontcourt banged up. Colby is the only 2-0 team, Bates and Tufts are 1-0, and the rest of the league has already picked up a loss.

This might not be the best year of NESCAC basketball we've seen or are going to see, but if this is what we're in store for the rest of the way, buckle up.

[Colby Hoops]

Great to be back in the swing of the league play. Caveat -- I watched zero basketball this weekend, but based on reading the recaps and box scores it was a good first weekend for the Mules -- particularly the huge second half against Trinity. 2-0 in a NESCAC weekend is always good, and 47 assists and 21 turnovers for the weekend will get it done. With Tucker out, Strahorn is riding the starters. Only 7 guys played against Trinity and every starter played big minutes. That's probably the best option, but it's going to be taxing playing an uptempo game on back to back games with so few guys. Easier to do at home when you have a blowout win on Friday. Will be a big test on the road at Midd and Williams next weekend. Good news is that Colby beat Trinity without big games from Jefferson or Hanna -- Noah Tyson seemed to be the big star in the Trinity game. Can't wait to see how the Mules stack up next weekend.

Despite the blown lead to Hamilton, that was a big weekend for the Ephs. Proved they have another gear and can beat the top teams in the league. We'll see if they can build off that weekend, but it should definitely give the young guys a lot of confidence.

You Amherst fans are a little like Patriots fans -- spoiled by all this winning! The Mammoths are still 10-4 and just beat the #3 team in the country on Friday night. A lot of basketball to be played and they're still in good position, plus beating Midd is great for conference tiebreakers.
For Midd, if Sobel is no longer on the roster that's obviously a big change -- definitely lowers the Panthers defensive ceiling. There are some silver linings as I think Eastman fits better playing as an undersized 4, rather than a big wing.

Looked like a wild one in the Wesleyan-Bates game today -- 4 point play from Gabe Ravetz with 11 seconds to go gave Wes the lead and then Kody Greenhalgh (a very underrated player) hit a driving layup to win it with 2 seconds to go. The Bobcats are feisty!

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Dave asked Coach Brown about Sobel on Hoopsville tonight - he said Alex is away from campus for personal reasons, but expects to be back at some point (no specification of this year or next or when).

[SpringSt7]

Is it possible that Sobel's absence could potentially be a little addition by subtraction? It definitely doesn't help them defensively but with Cahill on the floor that is some really legit spacing, and it frees up more minutes for Eastman, who seems to be hitting his stride as of late. No denying it's a loss, just feels like it could give them some new looks that are really hard to guard.

[granddaddyhoops]

First and foremost we hope all is well with Alex, I tend to agree with SpringSt7, addition by subtraction, Alex is definitely a rim protector and has become a real force. The Midd bench has answered the bell at every turn. Delorenzo, Cahill and Eastman have all stepped up and must continue to do so. Busy week ahead !

[nescac1]

An interesting GNAC-NESCAC mini-showdown on Tuesday.

Middlebury hosts Albertus Magnus, which is red hot at 11-1 (11 straight wins) including handing Williams its worst loss of the season (not a great effort from the Ephs that night, who lost Spivy early in the game to an injury and never really recovered, but AMC certainly deserves some credit for forcing the Ephs into an awful offensive night).  They are very deep and athletic, coming at you with waves of players, and they have a lot of guys who can create their own shot.  Karp had his worst night of the season vs. their defense.  With Sobel out and Folger seemingly not at 100 percent, the Midd guards will really need to have a strong night in that game.     

Meanwhile, Williams plays at St. Joseph's CT.  The story of that program is well known, as Jim Calhoun created a program out of scratch (assisted by former Conn College head coach Glenn Miller) and immediately brought in a boat load of talent, and seems to be in the process of building a regional (if not national) powerhouse.  St. Joe's is 11-2, and winners of 9 in a row.  In that winning streak (vs. mostly weak opponents) they have won every game by at least 13 points.  They already post double-digit wins over two NESCAC teams (Bates and Trinity), but did lose at Tufts.  The Bates win came without their top player, Delshawn Jackson, who is averaging over 25 ppg in his last four games.  St. Joe's is small, fast, and athletic, the type of team that tends to give the Ephs fits.  The other starting guard, who has played only in the past six games, is Jaecee Martin, a D1 transfer who is averaging 10 points, 6 assists, and 3 steals, and torched Bates for 26.  Containing the duo presents a daunting challenge for the slower Eph backcourt.   Williams should have a significant advantage on the interior, however. 

Should be an interesting night of hoops ...

[JEFFFAN]

Thanks. NESCAC1, for the heads up.  Those are two great games coming up.   Pretty amazing what Calhoun has done in such a short period of time - will be interesting to see how that game goes.

[nescac1]

From last night's Salisbury School (coached by former Panther Kyle Dudley) game recap:

Talk about deserving a break, it's hard to imagine a more deserving bunch than these Knights. With a 90-79 win over the Williams College junior varsity on Monday evening in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Salisbury completed a four-day stretch in which they played and won three games, two of them on the road. The team's eighth straight win boosts their season-slate to a glistening 10-1. And they will get that break with a rare Wednesday off and five days before their next game, Saturday against the Green Door of Deerfield.

Williams-commit Brandon Roughley made himself right at home in the gym he'll be calling "home" for the next four years. The Knights' scoring leader was in peak form, contributing a game- and season-high 30 points.

...

Roughley seems like a nice pickup for the Ephs, 6'8 with good perimeter skills.  He has one D1 offer from Umass-Lowell.  He's also a local product (from Dalton, MA), and will be the first Berkshires player on the team in quite some time (I believe actually since 2007!).  Hopefully helps to draw additional local interest in the team.

[nescac1]

Full list of 2020 NESCAC recruits I've seen announced here or elsewhere:

Bobby Sommers, 6'3 G/F, Amherst
Mohammad Alausa, 6'4 G/F, Amherst
Trace Gotham, 6'5 F, Bates
Stephen Ward, 6'6 F, Bates
David Basich, 6'0 G, Colby
Liam O'Connell, 6'4 G, Colby
Julius Nagin,6'3 G, Hamilton
Ryan Michael, 6'6 F, Hamilton
David Brennan, 6'5 F, Middlebury
Jay Dieterle, 6'4 G, Tufts
Liam Murphy, 6'5 F, Tufts
Will Dorion, 6'1 G, Trinity
Charlie Campbell, 6'2 G/F, Trinity
Garrett Kirk, 6'2 G, Trinity
Brandon Roughley, 6'8 F, Williams

Will Dorion (Alex's little brother, ranked 15th in MA) to Trinity seems like the biggest recruiting news of this bunch.  Trinity has brought in a lot of firepower on the perimeter between this year's frosh (three G/F's in the rotation as frosh) and the 2020 ED group.  Sommers, Alausa (whose older brother currently plays at Yale), Roughley, and Dieterle also seem like guys to keep a close eye on. 

Strange to see no announced (as of yet) Conn College guys.  I assume the new coach is going to bring in a huge class in his first year, they certainly need a big infusion of talent.  Only one big guy on this list, but often those guys sign on late as D1s keep a close eye during their senior seasons ...

[Colby Hoops]

Full list of 2020 NESCAC recruits I've seen announced here or elsewhere:

Bobby Sommers, 6'3 G/F, Amherst
Mohammad Alausa, 6'4 G/F, Amherst
Trace Gotham, 6'5 F, Bates
Stephen Ward, 6'6 F, Bates
David Basich, 6'0 G, Colby
Liam O'Connell, 6'4 G, Colby
Julius Nagin,6'3 G, Hamilton
Ryan Michael, 6'6 F, Hamilton
David Brennan, 6'5 F, Middlebury
Jay Dieterle, 6'4 G, Tufts
Liam Murphy, 6'5 F, Tufts
Will Dorion, 6'1 G, Trinity
Charlie Campbell, 6'2 G/F, Trinity
Garrett Kirk, 6'2 G, Trinity
Brandon Roughley, 6'8 F, Williams

Will Dorion (Alex's little brother, ranked 15th in MA) to Trinity seems like the biggest recruiting news of this bunch.  Trinity has brought in a lot of firepower on the perimeter between this year's frosh (three G/F's in the rotation as frosh) and the 2020 ED group.  Sommers, Alausa (whose older brother currently plays at Yale), Roughley, and Dieterle also seem like guys to keep a close eye on. 

Strange to see no announced (as of yet) Conn College guys.  I assume the new coach is going to bring in a huge class in his first year, they certainly need a big infusion of talent.  Only one big guy on this list, but often those guys sign on late as D1s keep a close eye during their senior seasons ...

Pretty hard to project based on highlight videos and random snippets from NERR and newspapers, but Liam O'Connell looks promising to me and seems like a natural fit for Colby's system. Ranked #14 for Maine Class of 2020 and playing against very good competition at Bridgton Academy -- I could see him stepping into minutes next year for the Mules.

[maineman]

An interesting GNAC-NESCAC mini-showdown on Tuesday.

Middlebury hosts Albertus Magnus, which is red hot at 11-1 (11 straight wins) including handing Williams its worst loss of the season (not a great effort from the Ephs that night, who lost Spivy early in the game to an injury and never really recovered, but AMC certainly deserves some credit for forcing the Ephs into an awful offensive night).  They are very deep and athletic, coming at you with waves of players, and they have a lot of guys who can create their own shot.  Karp had his worst night of the season vs. their defense.  With Sobel out and Folger seemingly not at 100 percent, the Midd guards will really need to have a strong night in that game.     

As you alluded, they go about 11 players deep and no one plays more than 23 minutes.  There is balanced scoring and rebounding meaning that Midd's 7 or 8 will have to box out and play good defense all game.  There won't be periods where there aren't multiple scorers on the floor.  Their one big-big, Perryman 6'9", only plays about 12 minutes a game, but is supplemented by 3 6'5" or 6'6" F/C players in Grant, Washington and sometimes Watson.  While they don't out rebound other teams by a huge margin (5), they do double up their opponents in steals and turn the ball over fewer times.  As mentioned, they defeated Williams, but they had close wins after the break against York and Coast Guard, neither of which are burning up the courts this year.  Maybe it was cobwebs from time off.  This game will be a challenge for the Panthers in both the front and back courts and they will need to play a clean game if they expect to escape with an unblemished non conference schedule.  If the can make 75% of their FTs and 35% of their 3 pointers that will be a good sign.  Delorenzo and Cahill as well as Kornaker, Folger and Eastman will have to come through outside the arc.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

From last night's Salisbury School (coached by former Panther Kyle Dudley) game recap:

Talk about deserving a break, it's hard to imagine a more deserving bunch than these Knights. With a 90-79 win over the Williams College junior varsity on Monday evening in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Salisbury completed a four-day stretch in which they played and won three games, two of them on the road. The team's eighth straight win boosts their season-slate to a glistening 10-1. And they will get that break with a rare Wednesday off and five days before their next game, Saturday against the Green Door of Deerfield.

Williams-commit Brandon Roughley made himself right at home in the gym he'll be calling "home" for the next four years. The Knights' scoring leader was in peak form, contributing a game- and season-high 30 points.

...

Roughley seems like a nice pickup for the Ephs, 6'8 with good perimeter skills.  He has one D1 offer from Umass-Lowell.  He's also a local product (from Dalton, MA), and will be the first Berkshires player on the team in quite some time (I believe actually since 2007!).  Hopefully helps to draw additional local interest in the team.

I've heard that Salisbury School is a really, really good institution. Beautiful location is what I've been told as well. I'm impressed some of the DIIIs are recruiting there. The only knock I've learned about Salisbury is they don't encourage the DIIIs for athletics as much as some alums would like them to; too focused on DIs.

[SpringSt7]

From last night's Salisbury School (coached by former Panther Kyle Dudley) game recap:

Talk about deserving a break, it's hard to imagine a more deserving bunch than these Knights. With a 90-79 win over the Williams College junior varsity on Monday evening in Williamstown, Massachusetts, Salisbury completed a four-day stretch in which they played and won three games, two of them on the road. The team's eighth straight win boosts their season-slate to a glistening 10-1. And they will get that break with a rare Wednesday off and five days before their next game, Saturday against the Green Door of Deerfield.

Williams-commit Brandon Roughley made himself right at home in the gym he'll be calling "home" for the next four years. The Knights' scoring leader was in peak form, contributing a game- and season-high 30 points.

...

Roughley seems like a nice pickup for the Ephs, 6'8 with good perimeter skills.  He has one D1 offer from Umass-Lowell.  He's also a local product (from Dalton, MA), and will be the first Berkshires player on the team in quite some time (I believe actually since 2007!).  Hopefully helps to draw additional local interest in the team.

I've heard that Salisbury School is a really, really good institution. Beautiful location is what I've been told as well. I'm impressed some of the DIIIs are recruiting there. The only knock I've learned about Salisbury is they don't encourage the DIIIs for athletics as much as some alums would like them to; too focused on DIs.

Salisbury's lacrosse and hockey programs are both as good as it gets in both the NE prep ranks but also nationally. But as far as I know, the basketball program, which competes in NEPSAC Class A, the third highest division in the NEPSAC, has never been known as a D1 basketball factory.