MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Thanks lumbercat, appreciate!  Part 4:

Wesleyan: 20-21 "practice roster" posted which excludes guys who apparently are taking a gap year - Gabe Ravetz, Shackylle Dezonie, Anton Walker, Preston Maccoux, Jordan James, basically, all the key guys other than Sam Peek.  Wesleyan should, accordingly, have every player back who averaged at least 4 ppg last year. 

Short term prognosis: Wesleyan had, unsurprisingly, a down 3-7 year last season after losing superstar Austin Hutcherson to transfer.  I think that Wesleyan is a near-lock to be one of the three most-improved teams in the league next year.  Wesleyan will have a loaded senior class: Walker, James, Peek, and a presumably healthy Joe DeLollo, and has some good recruits coming in this year, led by Cole Bryant, another wing in the strong, athletic Wesleyan mold.  There are also some young guys with some upside who may benefit from another year of development in the mix. 

Long term prognosis: not quite as strong, given how senior-heavy next year's roster will be.  Still, next season Wesleyan should contend for a top three spot in the league, especially if teams like Midd lose some key seniors who opt not to return.

Williams: very little public information; no roster posted.  The only two guys I've seen confirmation are taking an extra year are Nate Karren and Mike Myers. However, rumor has it that plenty more guys are doing so.  Marc Taylor and Dan Kacmarek, along with Myers the other two years, will probably be rotation guys if they return for a fifth year, but neither has made a big impact yet in what has been an injury-plagued group of seniors for the Ephs. 

Short term prognosis: very difficult to say, anywhere from  2 to 7 in the league seems plausible.  I expect that, despite losing Matt Karpowicz and two other senior starters, Williams will bounce back from a rare very down season.  Williams was playing much better by the end of last season, winning four of its last five including a big win over Tufts and a narrow OT loss to Amherst.  Underclassmen like Jovan Jones, Spencer Spivy, Nate Karren and Cole Prowitt-Smith played very well in some big moments down that stretch (those four look like their floor going forward is "quality starter," with a much higher ceiling than that), and other young players made solid contributions as well.  The Ephs will be, overall, a far more experienced team next year.  They will also benefit from a frosh class that will be far more ready to contribute than most -- Roughley, Porter and Dinkins were all highly-regarded post-grads in the class of 2024, so all will be effectively juniors in terms of their physical development when they step on campus, and I expect will help right away.

Long term prognosis: stellar.  Williams could return to being a national powerhouse in the 22-23 season and going forward for a few years after that.  The Karren / CPS / Roughley / Porter group could all be around for at least three more years, depending on who takes gap years, and that should provide a really strong foundation as they get experience playing together.  The Ephs are loaded with quality role guys who could end up as much more than that, particularly Brandon Arnold, Ryan Moon, and Alex Stoddard.  And 6'10 center David Elien, who was very raw as a frosh, could be an x factor on the defensive end as his game develops over time.  The Ephs are two-deep with talented guys at every spot; the question is, how fast will all those young guys develop? 


In sum, my VERY very rough guestimation for how the league looks going into next year:

Tufts: predicted finish between 1 and 3
Amherst: 1-5
Williams: 2-5
Colby: 2-6
Wesleyan: 3-7
---
Hamilton: 4-9
Trinity: 4-9
Bates: 4-9
Conn College: 7-11 (modified down with the news that Draffan and Zimmerman are not returning next year)
Middlebury: 9-11, in light of the news that the senior class are not returning for a fifth year, even though this feels crazy given Midd's recent history
Bowdoin: very likely 10-11, but anything is possible! 

[Colby Hoops]

Great stuff Nescac1! Agree with your overall assessments. As you note, really hard to definitively say anything without rosters. Should be a very competitive league -- Bowdoin the only team that looks to be in for a very rough time.

My Colby-centric perspective: In the four games Colby played this year, Alec McGovern was great -- aggressive, shooting it well, good defender. That builds off some nice moments at the end of last season. I feel very confident he'll be a good player.

Regarding Wallace Tucker -- he was a streaky player and had some very big moments, but playing both Hanna and him in the backcourt was tough given the size disadvantage and Tucker can be a little ball dominant, which works well when he's playing well and less well when he had cold shooting stretches. Now, I think the offense can run through Will King, who should be poised for a big year.

With King, McGovern, Tyson and Hanna I think Colby will be good. How good they are depends on the other roles players. Side note -- Noah Tyson has to be one of most underrated players in the league. In two years at Colby he's finished 9th and 5th in the conference in rebounding as 6'3" wing player -- that's crazy, and a huge reason why Colby can run out small lineups and not get killed on the glass. Obi is a bit of a wild card, I think if he can improve his finishing around the rim he'll be a very good player. After that, I think a lot of young/unproven guys will get opportunities and if 1-2 can prove to be good players then the Mules should be in the mix for a top 4 seed in the league. Between Liam Oconnell, Eric Baier (both seem to be taking a gap year), Lucas Green and Henry Westrich there's a lot of shooting talent and size on the wing.

[Titan Q]

Middlebury senior PG Griffin Kornaker (9.3 ppg, 4.5 apg) will play at Case Western Reserve as a grad transfer next season.

[nescac1]

Thanks for the info, Titan Q.  I have been -- and will keep -- updating my prior posts about who is coming back next year as information comes in. 

Getting an experienced point guard like Kornaker is a great pickup for Case Western.   And that's a real advantage for UAA schools (all of which have extensive graduate programs, I believe) vs. NESCAC (outside of Tufts, very, very limited or entirely non-existent at NESCAC schools).  No one on Case averaged even three APG in 19-20, and it seems like they lost a few guards who played a lot on that team, so Kornaker could make a big impact right away, and likely will have a much bigger statistical impact than he did at Midd, where he had to share the playmaking duties with Jack Farrell.  He is certainly capable of putting up something like 14-15 ppg and 6-7 apg in the right situation next year. 

[SpringSt7]

Do we have any idea what sort of timetable to expect for the Bowdoin and Tufts HC searches?

[amh63]

Interesting interview on the Tufts' website wrt to retiring HC.  I got the impression that Tufts is not in any hurry presently. I'm sure that the school is taking applications.

[P'bearfan]

Do we have any idea what sort of timetable to expect for the Bowdoin and Tufts HC searches?

Haven't heard anything regarding timing, but as of a week ago Bowdoin had received well over 100 applications.  Will be interesting to see whom they select.

[Caz Bombers]

saw today that the Hale family gave Conn 30 million dollars with 10 million for athletics. 

[nescac1]

Interesting (albeit discouraging for Midd fans) podcast with Farrell and Eastman, in which they discuss their lost senior year, among other things.  Farrell and Eastman, and from the looks of it, all of Midd's seniors, are not returning for a fifth year, meaning that (assuming Sobel is not back, which seems like a long shot), Midd's top returning scorer is Charlie Moore at 2 ppg.  It's going to be a wholesale rebuild for Jeff Brown and co. ... of every NESCAC squad, the two that the last year and a half must burn the most, from a hoops perspective, are Tufts (given that it had a real shot at a national title in 2020 stolen from it) and Midd (a loaded senior class never gets a shot at glory, plus no opportunity to give some of the younger guys real experience heading into this year).  Farrell said his hoops career is over, which is a huge bummer, while Eastman is looking at grad opportunities ... he'd be an absolutely massive addition for any D3 program, certainly, and could even help certain D1 schools in the right spot. 

https://middleburycampus.com/54581/sports/siefers-scoop-episode-15-mens-basketball-captains-jack-farrell-21-and-tommy-eastman-21/

[nescac1]

Very sad news to report: former Tufts player (class of 2014) Kwame Firempong died tragically from an undiagnosed heart condition:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/mighty-kwame-firempong?utm_campaign=p_cp_url&utm_medium=os&utm_source=customer

[nescac1]

Last night Duncan Robinson became the fastest NBA player (in terms of number of games) to 500 treys.  Crazy. 

Tommy Eastman will be playing for Brandeis next year.  Huge pickup for them.  If he makes all-UAA (which is a good bet!) will he be the first D3 player to be all-league in three different conferences??   Three top tier conferences, at that ...

https://twitter.com/nerrhoops/status/1388817065088323587?s=21

[Painter66]

This a tough time for Midd, where I was a player and graduate. Six really good seniors lost their last year, as they were poised for another NCAA run. They are all going to graduate and do well in life. As a lifer, who follows the team every day, it was hard to see. This was their shot at a national title, and it can't be reclaimed. But, they are not unique this year, and I applauded them for moving on. I hope that this does not open up the "portal" for D3.

[grabtherim]

Not an easy listen with the Midd Kids. You can feel their sense of loss, but they are mature beyond their years.  Very tough for the Seniors in our league and for all of the kids losing a season as they did. As a parent of a kid who played in the league I also feel for their folks and their families too. Bad cards to be dealt.  Most importantly, let's hope all of them come out of this healthy and the memories they carry with them in the years to come as it has for the kids, now young men, I met and got to know well thru my son,  will keep this crop of players laughing, smiling, telling stories, and being teammates for the rest of their lives. 

[P'bearfan]

Bowdoin's WBB Coach Adrienne Shibles is leaving to be the HC of WBB at Dartmouth.  Does anyone remember a NESCAC school having to replace both it's men's and women's coaches in the same year?

[Titan Q]

I'm hearing the following names in the conversation for the Bowdoin MBB opening:

-Mark Gilbride (RPI)
-Brandon Linton (Nichols)
-Alex Lloyd (Texas A&M staff)
-Dave Paulsen (Former George Mason, Bucknell, Willams)