MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Sounds like a major get for Trinity, he was ranked higher by NERR in 2020 than any other D3 recruit, including some very high-profile recruits for Williams and Conn College.  Trinity could have a pretty nasty frontcourt next year if Donald Jorden returns for a fifth year (as I think he is), along with Callahan-Gold and 6'9 Jared Whitt, who showed promise as a frosh before missing his entire sophomore year due to injury.  Trinity's backcourt on the other hand is a big question mark, as, if Colin Donovan isn't returning for a fifth year, they'd be losing their top five guards from the 2020 season. 

[SpringSt7]

Will also be interesting to see if Callahan-Gold is able to have a greater impact than he otherwise would have considering he just spent an entire season playing D1 basketball, practicing/working out etc. everyday in a competitive team setting while the rest of the league was hiking, playing the guitar, or doing whatever else NESCAC students do in their free time

[toad22]

Will also be interesting to see if Callahan-Gold is able to have a greater impact than he otherwise would have considering he just spent an entire season playing D1 basketball, practicing/working out etc. everyday in a competitive team setting while the rest of the league was hiking, playing the guitar, or doing whatever else NESCAC students do in their free time

I don't claim to know precisely what NESCAC basketball players did in the ~ 18 months between seasons, but I have a pretty good idea what much of the Williams team did, and it included an awful lot of basketball, conditioning, shooting and other skills training. I do know that a number of players have completely transformed themselves physically and from a basketball perspective. I would guess that similar activities have taken place throughout the league. After some shaking off of rust at the beginning of the season, I expect the play in the NESCAC to be at a very high level.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

Saw on the Vassar College website that A. Toomey has joined the men's basketball staff.  There is strong connection loop between the Un. of Rochester and Amherst in the hire, imho.

He joined the staff in 2020, but funny you should bring it up.  Rochester just lost their assistant to Colby Sawyer and I've been wondering if that's the next stop for Toomey. At this point of the year they're going to want someone who can hit the ground running.

Called it: https://uofrathletics.com/news/2021/9/17/mens-basketball-toomey-named-ur-mens-hoops-assistant-coach.aspx

[nescac1]

Solid first recruit for Linton at Tufts, Salisbury's James Morakis:

https://twitter.com/nerrhoops/status/1439389066122911757?s=21

[SpringSt7]

Linton has also added Josh Bernstein, a 6'10 center out of the Berkshire School. Another Middlesex Magic product.

[nescac1]

Class of 2026 NESCAC recruits to date.  Very impressive start for Brandon Linton, who has already locked down what appear to be three high-quality recruits in just a few months as the Tufts head coach. 

Bowdoin:

Alex Halpern, 6'0 G, NMH

Middlebury:

Edward Witherington, 6'6 forward, Fairhope H.S. (AL)

Tufts:

Josh Bernstein, 6'10 C, Berkshire School
James Morakis, 6'3 G, Salisbury School
Scott Gyimesi, 6'5 F, Rumson Fair-Haven (NJ)

Trinity:

Trevor McDonald, 6'5 guard, Canterbury School

[SpartyBlue]

Via Twitter, Trinity has landed former Tulane F Ben Callahan-Gold. Something must've happened because he transferred to Bryant in May but somehow ended up at Trinity. I usually tend to believe D1 transfers are overrated but this one seems different. 6'8 sophomore from NMH who can really shoot it.

A potential impact roster add.

Trivia:  Ben C-G is the son of famous standup comedian, Judy Gold.

[PoppersMacsLive]

Any sense yet as to who the 2021-22 NESCAC favorite(s) is/are?

[nescac1]

Poppers, I think it's pretty clear Tufts will be the favorite.  Based on what's reported, they return NESCAC player of the year and likely all-American center Luke Rogers as well as ace shooter Brennan Morris for a fifth year (as well as potential another senior or two).  Rogers got better every year so I expect will be an absolute monster in the post this season.  They also return their starting backcourt, both of whom have a huge amount of experience (both would normally be seniors this year) and a ton of talent on the wing (Thoerner, McLaren, and some high-level recruits) who should be able to fill in for the one big loss, Eric Savage.  Although Tufts made a coaching change, the new coach, Brandon Linton, is widely respected and has already had a ton of success in D3.  Tufts is a clear top-ten team nationally. 

After Tufts, it seems pretty wide open and there seems like a pretty big drop-off.  Amherst, Colby, Williams, Wesleyan all (to me) have a credible argument for the second and third spots behind Tufts, but Amherst (all three starting forwards graduated) and Colby (lost five guys from its eight man rotation including its star) both lost a lot (plus Amherst has a new coach), and Williams and Wesleyan both need to make pretty huge leaps from their level of play in 19-20 (I think both will, Wesleyan has everyone back plus added good talent and Williams has a loaded group of young players ready to step in).  So its really a mishmosh with those four.  Maybe even Trinity could be in the mix too, despite losing a lot of talent, depending on just how good its D1 transfer is and whether Donovan and Jorden come back for a fifth year (still not clear). 

In sum, other than the favorite (Tufts) and the favorite for the basement (I think that has to be a rebuilding Bowdoin team), it's going to be, like most places, a wildly unpredictable year in NESCAC. 

[jayhawk]

Brennan S. Morris of Tufts is listed on the Tufts Basketball Roster 2020-21 and  there is a Brennan S. Morris listed in the 2021 Commencemnt
Not sure if this is the same person NESCAC1 has been mentionning, not sure he will be available on the basketball team this year

[nescac1]

I believe Morris will be a grad student at Tufts next year. 

[Greek Tragedy]

In anticipation to the Sopranos prequel movie, I started rewatching the Sopranos. In the 1st season, Meadow and Tony travel north to visit Colby, Bates and Bowdoin. I'll presume they were shot on location, at least at Bowdoin as they show a famous quote from Hawthorne in the admissions office. I'm guessing this has been discussed in the past.

[SpringSt7]

Apparently Colby was Meadow's favorite but Tony was understandably against returning to the area.

[Greek Tragedy]

Columbia isn't a bad consolation.