MBB: NESCAC

[JEFFFAN]

Rare that a D3 coach let alone a NESCAC coach is selected to a Hall of Fame ... here is Hixon's speech:

https://www.nba.com/watch/video/david-hixon-hall-of-fame-speech-class-of-2023

[SpringSt7]

Per Instagram, the Amherst men's basketball team is currently on a trip to Morocco. A very cool destination but more importantly, could be a very nice opportunity for Marlon Sears to get a head start on evaluating his team and finding optimal lineups and rotations.

[nescac1]

A few NESCAC schedules are out.

Williams plays a solid schedule, highlighted by a tough opener at WPI.  At Redlands should be very tough coming off a long layoff, the coach there was poached from Whitman and he's been steadily building up the talent there, and Williams remembers well that helter-skelter, exhausting style of play.  St. Lawrence and Worcester State were also NCAA teams last year, and I think Emmanuel could be a dark horse in New England - they bring their top three guys back from an 18-9 team that beat Wesleyan last year.  And of course there are the little three games.   

https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

Wesleyan's non-conference schedule on the other hand is quite weak, outside of the Little Three games:

https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2023-24

Yeshiva, Worcester State, Eastern Conn and Emmanuel look like the most competitive non-NESCAC opponents, if Yeshiva and Eastern Conn bounce back from (by their standards) down years. 

Tufts, as usual, plays a strong schedule, highlighted by big games against Keene State and WPI.  UT Dallas is a fun out-of-region matchup and St. Joseph's CT is likely way down from last year, but still has some talent returning:

https://gotuftsjumbos.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2023-24

Speaking of Emmanuel, kudos to them for playing one of, surely, the tougher non-conference schedules in the country: highlighted by Nichols, Williams, CMS, Tufts, Conn College, Bowdoin, Endicott, and maybe Wesleyan, that's no joke ...

[stlawus]

Glad to see SLU get another potential game with Williams.  Game in Canton last year was great, first time I got to see a NESCAC team make the trip to SLU.  Williams crowd was really nice and friendly.   

[SpringSt7]

Believe you can thank the family and friends of Declan Porter for the good crowd

[ThumannsOwn]

Rare that a D3 coach let alone a NESCAC coach is selected to a Hall of Fame ... here is Hixon's speech:

https://www.nba.com/watch/video/david-hixon-hall-of-fame-speech-class-of-2023

Congrats to Coach Hixon on his enshrinement - well deserved! Perhaps the highlight of his weekend came from another induction speech - that of one Gregg Popovich, one of the, if not the best coach in the history of the NBA. Pop claims he idolizes guys like Coach Hixon.

https://twitter.com/1TimMurray/status/1690594030953107456?s=20

Assuming the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame continues down the path of inclusion, one has to think that Glenn Robinson from F&M will be nominated and inducted next from the D3 universe of great coaches. Comments welcomed.

[SpringSt7]

Candidly, I don't know what to make of guys that spend their entire careers in D3. I think Hixon is absolutely HOF worthy as a coach and as a resume---I wish I could make this point without turning this into a Williams/Amherst thing but I can't in this instance---but there is some element to me that I struggle with where so much of Hixon's argument is based on longevity and reaping the rewards of 40 years at a great place like Amherst, a program that he obviously built, but also a place he had on autopilot for so long.

I guess my point is, and I'm sorry that I don't know how to articulate this better---but if Mike Maker doesn't leave Williams for Marist is he getting in the Hall of Fame in 30 years? Or his new boss Johnny Tauer at St. Thomas - if they never left D3 he probably would've won 1000 games. But now he has almost no chance with a D1 resume, despite the fact that he has been forced to improve as a coach to compete against better competition.

[nescac1]

I think SpringSt7 has a fair point, but also the line for D3 coaches, while much much higher than D1, should be attainable - I suspect that the pretty clear Mount Rushmore of D3 - Robinson, Hixon, Wooster's Steve Moore, and Bo Ryan - will all get in.  The first three are just soooo far above their peers in total wins and all have at least made it to a final four.  And Ryan has the awesome hybrid strong D1 and utterly dominant D3 resume.  If Marc Harshman, who is 97th all time with 637 wins, among dozens of other D1 guys, is a HOF coach, I think there is room for the absolute pinnacle of D3 careers to be rewarded - 4, 5 guys tops, in time.  And at least to me it helps that the aforementioned group has distanced itself so clearly from the rest of the D3 field. 

[ThumannsOwn]

Candidly, I don't know what to make of guys that spend their entire careers in D3. I think Hixon is absolutely HOF worthy as a coach and as a resume---I wish I could make this point without turning this into a Williams/Amherst thing but I can't in this instance---but there is some element to me that I struggle with where so much of Hixon's argument is based on longevity and reaping the rewards of 40 years at a great place like Amherst, a program that he obviously built, but also a place he had on autopilot for so long.

I guess my point is, and I'm sorry that I don't know how to articulate this better---but if Mike Maker doesn't leave Williams for Marist is he getting in the Hall of Fame in 30 years? Or his new boss Johnny Tauer at St. Thomas - if they never left D3 he probably would've won 1000 games. But now he has almost no chance with a D1 resume, despite the fact that he has been forced to improve as a coach to compete against better competition.

Interestingly speculative thought on Maker and what his career at Williams would have looked like if he stayed there. Based on my math, Maker needed another 28 years at Williams to amass the same amount of wins that Hixon had at Amherst over his 42 years there - assuming he averaged the same 24-25 wins per year that he did from 2008-09 through 2013-14. Also assuming he were to win as many National Championships and reach as many Sweet 16s/Elite 8s/Final Fours, I think an easy case could be made for a Hall of Fame induction based on what we now know. Question for SpringSt7: would you or do you think you could use the same type of autopilot argument against Maker in this imaginary scenario - seems like you want to handicap/struggle Hixon's record in some way because he had the program on autopilot for so long?

[WUPHF]

The longevity question is interesting.

I am not one for participation trophies, but if I was in charge, a coach with the resume of say Mike Neer (and everyone better) would make the national basketball hall of fame.

[SpringSt7]

I would definitely use the autopilot argument against Maker. To me, the total wins number at a place like Williams or Amherst is kind of a moot point---Hixon's resume is the 2 national championships, 7 final fours, and however many conference championships (I know it's a lot). If he had 600 wins or 900 wins that would more or less be the same in my eyes. Now you still have to build it, and my apologies as I am not familiar with Amherst basketball pre-Hixon, I am sure it was a strong program but Maker presumably inherited more than Hixon did, so Hixon gets a lot of credit for that, but at some point the 20 wins per season are just sort of priced into the overall picture. If I was a coach reading this I would probably be livid at some idiot online implying that Dave Hixon or Mike Maker were winning 20 games a year without putting in any work, they obviously were, but eventually the regular season wins just become a factor of longevity and a byproduct of the great coaching that you put in beforehand, at least as it pertains to being considered for the Hall of Fame.

Looping that in with Robinson - to me, 5 Final Fours and no national championships doesn't do it for me as a HOFer coming from Division III. 900 wins is great but again, what makes that any different than 700 wins at the end of the day? Hixon could have 400 wins, 2 national championships, and 7 final fours and I would take that over Robinson too. 7 Final Fours is a ton!

I agree that there should be an attainable line for D3 coaches but I think it should be really high and based predominantly on your postseason achievements and not on longevity.

[WUPHF]

Looping that in with Robinson - to me, 5 Final Fours and no national championships doesn't do it for me as a HOFer coming from Division III. 900 wins is great but again, what makes that any different than 700 wins at the end of the day? Hixon could have 400 wins, 2 national championships, and 7 final fours and I would take that over Robinson too. 7 Final Fours is a ton!

It was this point in particular that had me saying that longevity point was interesting.

I would have Robinson in my hall of fame, but not necessarily on the four coach Mount Rushmore.

I agree about the high bar and maybe I have to think about Mike Neer, but he is a good example with which to discuss longevity as he only coached for 34 seasons.  He has over 600 wins which is a common discussion line and has a national championship and a runner-up.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It's kind of tough to know what will make a HOF resume for d3 coaches. At the d1 level, winning consistently and being respected is about all it takes. People like Huggins or Gene Keady getting in is fine by me, but I'm skeptical that d3 guys of comparative resume will ever be considered, largely because d3 is stilled viewed as lesser or easier.

I suspect Bo Ryan will be the next guy to get in largely due to d3 accomplishments.  His d1 success will boost the resume.

[Bucket]

A few NESCAC schedules are out.

Williams plays a solid schedule, highlighted by a tough opener at WPI.  At Redlands should be very tough coming off a long layoff, the coach there was poached from Whitman and he's been steadily building up the talent there, and Williams remembers well that helter-skelter, exhausting style of play.  St. Lawrence and Worcester State were also NCAA teams last year, and I think Emmanuel could be a dark horse in New England - they bring their top three guys back from an 18-9 team that beat Wesleyan last year.  And of course there are the little three games.   

https://ephsports.williams.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

Wesleyan's non-conference schedule on the other hand is quite weak, outside of the Little Three games:

https://athletics.wesleyan.edu/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2023-24

Yeshiva, Worcester State, Eastern Conn and Emmanuel look like the most competitive non-NESCAC opponents, if Yeshiva and Eastern Conn bounce back from (by their standards) down years. 

Tufts, as usual, plays a strong schedule, highlighted by big games against Keene State and WPI.  UT Dallas is a fun out-of-region matchup and St. Joseph's CT is likely way down from last year, but still has some talent returning:

https://gotuftsjumbos.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/2023-24

Speaking of Emmanuel, kudos to them for playing one of, surely, the tougher non-conference schedules in the country: highlighted by Nichols, Williams, CMS, Tufts, Conn College, Bowdoin, Endicott, and maybe Wesleyan, that's no joke ...

Just saw that Midd basketball  social accounts have posted the Panthers' schedule:

OOC games include:

Home matchups with St. Joseph's (season opener), Endicott, Rochester (NESCAC-UAA challenge), Chicago (Ditto), Skidmore, Keene State
Road games at: Clark, Wittenberg (Great Lakes Invitational), New England College, Plattsburgh, Stevens, Brandeis
Neutral site vs. Redlands (Great Lakes Invitational)

[nescac1]

Very fun and challenging schedule for Midd.  Keene State is obviously the highlight, Keene is absolutely stacked this year, and Rochester, Stevens, Brandeis and Redlands (among a few others, potentially) should all be very challenging games.  St. Joe's Ct. plays a ton of NESCAC games in the first semester (Trinity, Midd, Colby, Tufts), and they are a huge unknown - they lose the vast majority of their rotation (I believe top eight scorers do not return) to graduation, but had some good first-years and I imagine will be bringing in at lot of fresh blood. 

Compared to so many in D3, a very quiet off-season in NESCAC. No coaching changes, no major additions via transfer (that we know of), a lot of stability.  Still, quite a talent drain from the league due to so many fifth year stars - Sobel, Thoerner, King, Baxter, Maccoux - plying their trade elsewhere next season.