MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Interesting re: NYU.  Yeah, I'd agree that Stockwell seems like the overwhelming favorite.  It's hard to see the coaches at Williams, Amherst, Midd, Tufts, Wesleyan, Bowdoin having any interesting in that job.  Bates and Colby seem unlikely given the alumni connections.  Conn, too new a hire there and trending up.  Cosgrove at Trinity - maybe?  He's like Stockwell in the sweet spot for a coaching move, tenure-wise, but NYU is really too lateral a move unless something was drawing him to NYC (and a lot of things could draw someone to NYC!).  But Stockwell certainly makes the most sense, even if he has a TON of upstate NY ties. 

I will say, it constantly amazes me that NYU is not a D3 power.  It's an elite academic institution in an amazing location.  It has a huge student population with elite grad programs, so it has an advantage for attracting transfers / grad students.  It's in one of the power D3 leagues, and in the middle of a great region for D3 recruiting.  Why should Wash U. and Emory be D3 powerhouses, but not NYU? It seems like it should be a top-10 D3 job, yet NYU has been largely irrelevant in the D3 power rankings for many years.  Seems like a great job for an ambitious coach to take. 

[WUPHF]

So quiet that I was curious if the NYU job was actually open.

Dagan Nelson is still listed as the head coach in the basketball section of the website though only one assistant coach remains in the staff directory.

Otherwise, I agree on the quality of the job.

I would need to double check this, but I think NYU had one of their best seasons ever as an athletics department.  Men's Basketball was one of the few under performing relative to the other sports.  There is so much history with the program; it could be great again.

I said this when Nelson took over, but the new coach should finally benefit from having one of the better gyms in the country as well.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I keep hearing that the financial aid situation at NYU makes recruiting competitively with similar schools very difficult.  I don't know all the details or even enough to evaluate that claim with any credibility, but I do hear it a lot.

[WUPHF]

I keep hearing that the financial aid situation at NYU makes recruiting competitively with similar schools very difficult.  I don't know all the details or even enough to evaluate that claim with any credibility, but I do hear it a lot.

That could be the case, but if you look at NYU overall, they are in the Top 50 in the Directors Cup and had teams that won the league Volleyball and Women's Basketball and were in the mix for a few others.

[SpringSt7]

Is Top 50 in the Director's Cup really an achievement for a school of their stature? There are plenty of schools that are great in a few sports - Bowdoin women's basketball, for example - but don't find anywhere near the same success across the athletic department.

The bigger question for me is what changed in the last 5 years that tanked the basketball program and is that still a factor now? If those financial aid requirements are new, it could be the answer.

[WUPHF]

My point about the Directors Cup was to suggest that they are competing well in some programs.

I guess I think they should regularly have a basketball program that is consistent with the success of their other programs. 

The Violets had a Sweet 16 season in 2015-2016, led by one of the best point guards and one of the best forwards ever to play in the UAA, and then fell over a cliff recruiting-wise in 2016-2017.  They have not been able to recover.

[gordonmann]

I interviewed Dagan when he took the job and asked him about recruiting. Not sure if it was on air or not, but he said that recruiting to NYU was very difficult because the school offered no financial aid. So, while schools like Williams are going one direction, NYU was already going the other.

[WUPHF]

I interviewed Dagan when he took the job and asked him about recruiting. Not sure if it was on air or not, but he said that recruiting to NYU was very difficult because the school offered no financial aid. So, while schools like Williams are going one direction, NYU was already going the other.

It would be interesting to know what the average elite research university pays out in scholarships to the average athlete as well as those that offer need-blind admissions and no-loan financial aid packages.  I think a lot of athletes pay full freight.

[nescac1]

Peek commits to Stetson: https://twitter.com/speek_12/status/1518716614870450182?s=21&t=NDA17SJYU5vpBf_j3EBOvA

[nescac1]

I'm sure Peek will play a ton at Stetson. They lose their three double-digit wing / guard scorers (two to transfer).  Seems like a great landing spot to make an instant impact.  Game to watch: Lipscomb, when he plays vs fellow D3 alum Matt Schner. 

[stlawus]

I wonder if this is the work of Stetson assistant Jonathan Mitchell.  Peek is from Poughkeepsie and is no doubt aware of Mitchell's accolades at Mount Vernon.

[nescac1]

Updated recruiting list with some late additions:

Amherst:

Christopher Hammond, 6'6 G/F, Campbell Hall (CA)
Drew Martin, 6'7 G/F, Rivers School
Giovanni Tam, 6'10 C, Cushing Academy, #38 in MA
Charlie Randall, 7'0 F Berkshire School, #20 in MA, #56 in New England

Bates:

Brady Coyne, 6'1 G, Falmouth (ME), #16 in ME
Elliot Cravitz, 6'3 G, Colorado Academy


Bowdoin:

Alex Halpern, 6'0 G, NMH
Jaden Hill, 5'7 PG, Belmont Hill
Nolan Bessire, 6'9, PF, Montgomery HS, CA
Kevin Reeves, 6'7, PF, Columbia Academy, OH
Andrew Szwez, 6'6 F, Lee Academy
Will Logue, SG, 6'2, Santa Rosa (CA) HS

Colby:

Miles Drake, 6'1 G, Darien HS
Max Poulton, 6'4 G, Rivers School, #37 in MA

Conn College:

RJ Casey, 5'10 PG, Franklin Road (TN)
Elias Espinosa, 6'3 G, Bergen Catholic (NJ)


Hamilton:

Yashiya Crespin, 6'5 PG, Grace Christian (Raleigh NC)
Garret Keyhani, 6'8 F, Juniperro Serra (CA)


Middlebury:

Edward Witherington, 6'6 F, Fairhope H.S. (AL)
Jackson McKersie, 6'8 F, Dexter Southfield (MA)
Mark Newell, 6'5 F, St. Sebastian
Tristan Joseph, 6'2 G, Brunswick School
Evan Flaks, 5'9 PG, Taft School


Trinity:

Trevor McDonald, 6'5 G, Canterbury School
Drew Herer, 6'3 G, Beaver Country Day
Henry Vetter, 6'3 G, Canterbury School
Dane Moran, 6'9 F/C, Lawrenceville (NJ)


Tufts:

Josh Bernstein, 6'10 C, Berkshire School
James Morakis, 6'3 G, Salisbury School, #40 in CT
Scott Gyimesi, 6'5 F, Rumson Fair-Haven (NJ)


Wesleyan:

Alex Justh, 6'3 G, Berkshire School
Michael Astorino, 6'6 G/F, IMG Academy (FL)
Sam Pohlman, 6'2 PG, Perkiomen School (PA)
Jackson Cormier, 6'3 G, St. John's School (TX)


Williams:

Ben McGraw, 6'3 G, Bolles (FL)
Alex Lee, 6'2 G, Clear Lake (TX), #30 Greater Houston
Hudson Hansen, 6'8 F, NMH, #36 MA
Sammy Cooley, 6'4 G/F, South Lakes (VA)
Isiaha Dickens, 6'7 F, Hun School (NJ)

[ephoops]

Latest rumor is that Tobin Anderson will be hired as the next HC at FDU.

He's moving up to D-1 after a successful run at D-II St. Thomas Aquinas.

[SpringSt7]

Tobin Anderson's former boss, Dave Paulsen, is now on staff as an assistant coach at Fordham. He spent last year as a special assistant to now Villanova HC Kyle Neptune.

[nescac1]

News for the Amherst fans:

https://www.gazettenet.com/Amherst-College-names-basketball-court-after-legendary-coach-Dave-Hixon-46271620