MBB: NESCAC

[Old Guy]

You Midd fans can choose to be oversensitive and continue to take my comments as a criticism of Alex Sobel, but it isn't. The comment, again, was simply that there is not a direct correlation between shot blocking and post defense. Please continue to twist that in a way that makes you upset.

You are right, SpringSt7, there is not a DIRECT correlation between shot blocking and post defense. But there is a correlation, if not direct. I think what Midd fans, partisan as they (we) may be, are suggesting is that his post defense, overall, is pretty good. His shot blocking affects the way opponents play against us. He also leads the conference in rebounding: there is a correlation between rebounding and post defense, no? With Karran, Rogers, James, et al, we like the company he keeps.

[toad22]

You Midd fans can choose to be oversensitive and continue to take my comments as a criticism of Alex Sobel, but it isn't. The comment, again, was simply that there is not a direct correlation between shot blocking and post defense. Please continue to twist that in a way that makes you upset.

You are right, SpringSt7, there is not a DIRECT correlation between shot blocking and post defense. But there is a correlation, if not direct. I think what Midd fans, partisan as they (we) may be, are suggesting is that his post defense, overall, is pretty good. His shot blocking affects the way opponents play against us. He also leads the conference in rebounding: there is a correlation between rebounding and post defense, no? With Karran, Rogers, James, et al, we like the company he keeps.

My brother, Bates '68, thinks Sobel is the best center in the NESCAC this season. I might not go that far, but he is certainly in the conversation. I don't think of Sobel as a shot blocker as much as a very good paint protector. He is required to play too many minutes and to do too many things for Middlebury. Midd is very much a work in progress and is likely to be at or near the top of the league for years to come. They just need more depth. That can come from new players, or from young players getting experience and honing their skills. There is just no question that they are going to do nothing but get better.

[SpringSt7]

Sobel is probably the best center in the league---I say probably only because there is no way of knowing what kind of damage the other centers would do if they were placed on that Middlebury team and given the ball as much as he is. Not to mention the fact that the center position is absolutely loaded this year.

Sobel is not a bad post defender by any stretch but I also don't find him to be elite at preventing his man from scoring. When they played Williams, Jeff Brown utilized him as a stay at home defender by placing him on Jovan Jones and allowing him to help off with David Brennan, who drew the Karren assignment. I thought this was the right move, despite the fact that it did not ultimately work out.

Sobel is better at coming from the weak side to affect shots from people he is not guarding. Obviously this requires help from his other 4 teammates, who are younger, less experienced, and obviously lesser defenders. The last iteration of successful Middlebury teams were able to hang defensively because Eric McCord was such a mule down low, he was impossible to move. I watched Matt Karpowicz move almost everyone during his time at Williams--not Eric McCord. McCord forced his man to catch the ball away from the hoop, which allowed for guys like young Sobel and also Matt Folger to be in a position to affect shots---Folger was another guy who was an excellent shot blocker but not necessarily a lock down post defender because of his frame. I would imagine Eric McCord did not block an overwhelming amount of shots either.

[maineman]

I agree with whoever said Midd needs to win both games next weekend to remain relevant in Pool C.  That will be difficult since Tufts just held Trinity to 38 points which was the same team that Midd took 3 OTs to defeat at home.  And Bates will be a tough game, too.  Who knows who they will meet in the NESCAC tournament.  Midd is certainly no lock to get 3rd seed and could fall as far as 5th seed.  They could end up playing in the 4 vs 5 game against Amh or Tufts which would make two wins in the tournament far more difficult than playing from the 3rd seed.

[grabtherim]

I have really enjoyed reading the analysis of defense, help defense, all the other Xs & 0s stuff, rankings, pool this and that etc etc.  For me the real story here week in and week out is how expectations have changed over a short NESCAC season.  Midd playing mostly with young inexerienced players and Sobel who is coming back from time off before the pandemic, was a team virtually nothing was expected from when the season began.  Now they are in conversations no one ever thought they would be a part of.  Credit of course to Sobel and the young kids who should benefit big time from this experience next year and beyond, but even more so to Jeff Brown.  I have watched Jeff coach for close to fifteen years getting the most out of the diverse talent he has every season. I don't think a coach who has finished 2nd or 3rd in our league has ever won coach of the year, but from someone who saw our kids come damn close to winning it all, so far, this ranks as one of Jeff's best coaching seasons.       

[nescac1]

It is going to very interesting how Midd is dealt with in awards season unless they make a surprising run to the NESCAC final or something.  Midd looks like right now the third or fourth best team in NESCAC.  Yet, they have the runaway contender for ROY, the leading contender for POY, a top contender for COY, and with three guys in the top four scorers to date in league play, a great case for three players on the all-conference teams.  In the very rare cases where a heavy concentration of league awards (like three all-league guys or two all-league guys plus player and coach of the year) go to one program, that program tends to be one that is not just regionally but nationally dominant (Amherst 2013, Williams 2010).  Midd is just a very weird team in that we've never seen a team be quite this successful with only three guys who are responsible for nearly all of the offensive playmaking.  I don't see how they can get POY, ROY and COY if they end up as, say, a third or fourth place team in the league.  But right now, they might just have the most deserving guys for each. 

And if Noah Osher keeps it going like this the rest of the year, he has to be an all-league guy.  Over his last six games, he's averaging 23.5-4-3, while playing nearly every minute and shooting it very efficiently (49 / 43 / 90).

COY is going to be stacked this year as well.  Wesleyan and Williams are of course very talented but it's easy to forget that they both had quite down years (especially by those programs' standards) in 2020, so Reilly and App both deserve a ton of credit for how much they have improved those teams this season.  Both have also struggled with plenty of injuries and/or COVID-related absences.  Wesleyan has obviously nevertheless thrived, as for Williams, the most challenging stretch is still to come: if it survives high-stakes Wesleyan/Tufts/Bates (maybe more?) games this week after a two plus week layoff and missing (we will see exactly who tonight) some key players due to COVID protocols, that would really be a feather in App's cap.  It's impossible to know what to expect for tonight's game vs. Wesleyan, although Williams surely will be the underdog if down a few starters. 

He won't be COY, but Alex Lloyd at Bowdoin really deserves a shout-out.  He inherited a roster thin on talent, with no fifth-year seniors and none of his own recruits, and many of Bowdoin's top recruits over the last few years ended up, for one reason or another, elsewhere.  To sit at .500 at this point of the season, with wins over Colby, Conn and Hamilton, is really impressive all things considered. 

[amh63]

It's Monday....after a weekend of Nescac basketball watching....both.men and women.  Amherst's out of conference game has been postponed.  Surprisingly the Nescac site has noted the change but D3hoops has missed it.  Did verified the change on the Amherst's site.  I'm making a guess the change was made to help the team rest and hit the books...three games in three days is a heavy load.

[jumpshot]

... or is it because Emmanuel is that rarest of the rare, an amHerst non-Nescac opponent with a winning record (13-6)?

[Pat Coleman]

Amherst's out of conference game has been postponed.  Surprisingly the Nescac site has noted the change but D3hoops has missed it. 

A school has to tell us about it for us to know. Or schools can log in and remove the game themselves. But thanks for letting us know.

[toad22]

I'm looking forward to the Williams - Wesleyan game tonight. It will be fun to see Williams get back on the court again after more than two weeks away. It will only be a fraction of the team, but in the best Bill Belichick tradition, "next man up"!

[Cards Fan]

ROLL CARDS!

[SpringSt7]

Ephs trail by 31 at half to Wesleyan. Cole Prowitt-Smith was an unexpected member of the starting five but who knows when he got cleared to play. Jordan James and co. are abusing the short handed Ephs down low, who are playing Dan Kacmarek and David Elien in essentially their first real action ever. Elien hasn't played since 2019 and has taken one career shot! And although there are guys who are capable of stepping up offensively---Porter, Roughley, Stoddard----they don't seem up for the challenge tonight.

Oh, and Wesleyan is pretty good too.

[nescac1]

Maybe the poster who accused Williams of somehow dodging games will retract that because the Ephs are even now a shell of themselves, missing Karren, Arnold, Spivy, Glatzer and Moon.  And besides that the team is crazy rusty after an over two-week layoff.  Wesleyan to its credit smelled blood and attacked the depleted Ephs relentlessly in the paint from the get go.  Ugly one for Williams as Wesleyan will easily break its long losing streak vs the Ephs.

Ephs need to just treat this one as a scrimmage to get their legs back and hope they get some more guys back and in game shape for Saturday and Sunday, because when closer to 100 percent they know what they can do. 

Three way tie for Little 3 with the road teams going 6-0. That kind of year!

[jumpshot]

Williams does the right thing by playing Wesleyan tonight without excuse. Missing leading scorers, normal rotation, no games for over prior two weeks, etc. Ephs down 50-19 at the half. Wes playing quite well, lots of confidence, and weapons. Stay turned, more basketball yet to come, including tournament. Just not tonight ....

[SpringSt7]

Ephs get bombed. Will have to get research on it but maybe worst loss ever. Nothing to add, with the layoff, guys missing, and an admittedly very good Wesleyan team that also played at its best tonight, this was the result.

With that being said, 15 total rebounds for a team with Division 1 size is appalling. Wesleyan is a tough matchup in that regard but going into the game knowing you would have find a way to win ugly and getting outrebounded 52-18 (!!!) is shocking. That was disappointing.

The only positive was Brandon Roughley was outstanding. 18 points on 7-12 shooting in just 20 minutes, seeing extended action at center for the first time. Jordan James just couldn't stay in front of him. If the Ephs can find a way to get Roughley on the floor more as the back up 5 without compromising their defense they might have found a little extra spark for the stretch run.

Speaking of Jordan James, it looks like Joe Reilly finally figured out how good he is, which is really bad news for the league. Plays so hard, physical, and so athletic. Most confidence he's played with in the post for a while, his touch isn't elite but he's ambidextrous which makes him so hard to guard. Bad news for the rest of the league. And the road to the NESCAC title is going to run through Middletown too.