MBB: NESCAC

[Bucket]

Middlebury ends it's pre-exam portion of the season on a high note, winning in OT on the road at Stevens, 84-77.

After a disappointing start to the year—albeit playing a very challenging schedule—the Panthers enter the break having won three straight, with by far its most impressive win coming in New Jersey at Stevens, with the Ducks entering the contest with a 7-1 record and undefeated at home.

Trailing by 2 with the clock winding down, Tristan Joseph sent the game to over time with a driving layup with :03 seconds left. The Panthers never trailed in OT.

Noah Osher led all scorers with a career-high 34, adding six assists. Tristan Joseph again in double figures with 14. Lamine Cisse was highly efficient, scoring 13 in 16 minutes of action.

David Brennan fouled out of a contest for the first time this season, but not before grabbing 14 rebounds.

Midd again playing without Sam Stevens, Jaden Bobbett, and Jackson McKersie. Hope they can use the extended break to recuperate and heal. Joesph, Cisse, and Witherington all impressive the past couple of games and making the most of their opportunities in their teammates' absence.

[Old Guy]

Not much to add to Bucket's fine summary of Middlebury's climb to Mount .500. I am impressed with the emergence of Tristan Joseph as a crucial contributor — also the play of Edward Witherington in the Stevens game. He was expected to be a key piece this year but has been slowed by injury and illness.

I would underscore the extraordinary play of David Brennan, who had 62 rebounds in the three victories by Midd (two in OT). He will likely not be able to keep up this pace (12.7 rebounds a game, for the season so far) but he did finish second in the league in rebounds last year with 9.0 a game (second to Sobel's 11.7). If you like basketball, his relentless play is a joy to watch: he also leads the league in floor burns. At 6'6" (maybe), he is always guarding bigger people, such as 6'9" Jack Spellman of Stevens, an excellent big man (All-MAC first team last year).

Midd plays Brandeis (7-2) in Waltham (my birthplace!) on 12/29, then it's on to NESCAC play with Hamilton and Amherst the first weekend in 2024. Happy holidays, all!

[names jaismith]

Maybe time to give Conn a closer look.  Currently 8-2 with losses to Keene and NYU, the first not that close, the second anyone's game right until the end.  It took great shooting from distance for NYU to eke out a narrow win.  Conn has two games in the Utica Tournament later this month plus a game in which they will be favored vs U Mass Dartmouth and one in which they might not be at always tough Albertus Magnus.  It's not impossible to envision Conn with 11 or even 12 non-league wins.  If so, a strong performance in NESCAC play could put them on the edge of an at large bid.  They will be underdogs against Trinity, Tufts and Williams for sure.  But they are better than Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby and Hamilton.  I'd put them slightly ahead of Wesleyan at present since that game will be at Conn.  Likely a toss up at Midd depending on how Midd's season evolves.  Conn has an experienced core, even stronger now that 6'9" Andrew Hartel has returned to back up David Murray.  They play a stingy and unconventional zone defense, don't turn it over and this year seemed to have solved the free throw shooting woes that have plagued them in the past.  Right now they would appear to be in the 16-18 win range.  They might need to upset one of the big three to grab an NCAA bid but considering how absolutely awful they were pre COVID years they have made great strides.

[toad22]

I am hoping for better health for Williams moving into second semester play. The Ephs have been down two starters for the entire season, and they lost Evan Glatzer several games ago. The bad news is that they are down three starters, the good news is that others players, notably Ben McGraw, Noah Dinkins, and Sammy Cooley, have stepped up and played very well. Throughout the first 10 games, Nate Karren has played himself into reasonable shape, after being down with a sprained ankle for the 7-8 weeks before the first game of the season. Karren's backup at center, Brandon Arnold, has filled in the gaps very nicely. If one or two injured guys can come back, it would help a great deal. Declan Porter led the NESCAC last year in 3pt fgs taken and made and shot at a 43% clip. He has yet to make an appearance this year. His absence has been greatly felt. Likewise, Hudson Hansen, Williams' 6'8" high energy sophomore forward, is still out. Hopefully, he will be playing in semester 2. The competition will really start to ramp up when they face Redlands and UC Santa Cruz over the holidays. After then it is into league play, where anything can, and often does, happen. Williams has the potential to be a really fine team, but I fear that without some of their best players coming back, things will be much more difficult.

[nescac1]

Some info on the first round of NESCAC recruits.  This information seems to have become harder to track down than it used to be, so I'm sure there are loads of others. Nice early recruiting group for Williams, which added a very smooth point guard who is quick with the ball, a bigger guard who is appears to be a three-point shooting specialist, and two big, skilled wings. 

Beyond the Williams group, the most notable name here is likely Oscar Edelman to Wesleyan.  Wesleyan should be loaded next season as it returns its entire rotation, including two frosh wings each with a ton of upside, other than its back-up big man, and Edelman should be able to fill in as the back-up big right away.  Mitch Humphrey seems like a good fit for Colby as he's an ace three point shooter with the size to guard up a bit. 

Amherst:

Jacob Blank, 6'4 G, Yavneh Academy (TX)

Bates:

Sean O'Leary, 6'4 W, Franklin H.S. (MA)

Bowdoin:

Liam McBride, 6'3 G, Deerfield

Colby:

Mitch Humphrey, 6'6 W, St. Viator (IL)
Dan Civello 6'10 C, BC High

Conn College:

Bo Moodey, 6'2 G, Malden Catholic

Middlebury:

Max Alberts, 6'4 W, Berkshire School

Tufts:

Isaac Friedman, 6'5 G, Millbrook School

Wesleyan:

Oscar Edelman, 6'8 F/C, New Hampton (#5 N.H.)

Williams:

Justin Belcher, 6'0 G, University School (OH)
Aidan Yates, 6'5 G, Charlottesville H.S. (VA)
Jackson Rein, 6'7 W, Ravenscroft School (NC)
Matthew Nachamkin, 6'7 W, Haldane School (NY)

[Bucket]

Some info on the first round of NESCAC recruits.  This information seems to have become harder to track down than it used to be, so I'm sure there are loads of others. Nice early recruiting group for Williams, which added a very smooth point guard who is quick with the ball, a bigger guard who is appears to be a three-point shooting specialist, and two big, skilled wings. 

Beyond the Williams group, the most notable name here is likely Oscar Edelman to Wesleyan.  Wesleyan should be loaded next season as it returns its entire rotation, including two frosh wings each with a ton of upside, other than its back-up big man, and Edelman should be able to fill in as the back-up big right away.  Mitch Humphrey seems like a good fit for Colby as he's an ace three point shooter with the size to guard up a bit. 

Amherst:

Jacob Blank, 6'4 G, Yavneh Academy (TX)

Bates:

Sean O'Leary, 6'4 W, Franklin H.S. (MA)

Bowdoin:

Liam McBride, 6'3 G, Deerfield

Colby:

Mitch Humphrey, 6'6 W, St. Viator (IL)
Dan Civello 6'10 C, BC High

Conn College:

Bo Moodey, 6'2 G, Malden Catholic

Middlebury:

Max Alberts, 6'4 W, Berkshire School

Tufts:

Isaac Friedman, 6'5 G, Millbrook School

Wesleyan:

Oscar Edelman, 6'8 F/C, New Hampton (#5 N.H.)

Williams:

Justin Belcher, 6'0 G, University School (OH)
Aidan Yates, 6'5 G, Charlottesville H.S. (VA)
Jackson Rein, 6'7 W, Ravenscroft School (NC)
Matthew Nachamkin, 6'7 W, Haldane School (NY)

You can add 6'9" Henry Morrison from Flintridge Prep in California to Midd's commitment list. Rim protector is a position of need for the Panthers.

https://twitter.com/BTIHoops/status/1735808120017060318

[stlawus]

Saw Nachamkin play last year in the NYS final four.   Will definitely spread the floor and has a good amount of athleticism.  Just needs to bulk up.

[quicksilver]

Some info on the first round of NESCAC recruits.  This information seems to have become harder to track down than it used to be, so I'm sure there are loads of others. Nice early recruiting group for Williams, which added a very smooth point guard who is quick with the ball, a bigger guard who is appears to be a three-point shooting specialist, and two big, skilled wings. 

Beyond the Williams group, the most notable name here is likely Oscar Edelman to Wesleyan.  Wesleyan should be loaded next season as it returns its entire rotation, including two frosh wings each with a ton of upside, other than its back-up big man, and Edelman should be able to fill in as the back-up big right away.  Mitch Humphrey seems like a good fit for Colby as he's an ace three point shooter with the size to guard up a bit. 

  . .
Bowdoin:

Liam McBride, 6'3 G, Deerfield

. .

You can add to Bowdoin's list of commits:

Chris Simonds, 6'8 C, Falmouth (ME) HS: Younger brother of Jack and Michael and apparently a defensive force . .

[nescac1]

Thanks for the information.  Added the big guy recruits for Bowdoin and Midd and also Lukas Schmid, a very smooth-looking point guard for Tufts, which just continues to add solid talent each year.  With Schmid and Friedman joining this year's strong frosh trio of Kennelly, Medley, and Reilly, Tufts should be set on the perimeter for awhile. 

Amherst:

Jacob Blank, 6'4 G, Yavneh Academy (TX)

Bates:

Sean O'Leary, 6'4 W, Franklin H.S. (MA)

Bowdoin:

Liam McBride, 6'3 G, Deerfield
Chris Simons, 6'8 C, Falmouth

Colby:

Mitch Humphrey, 6'6 W, St. Viator (IL)
Dan Civello 6'10 C, BC High

Conn College:

Bo Moodey, 6'2 G, Malden Catholic

Middlebury:

Max Alberts, 6'4 W, Berkshire School
Henry Morrison, 6'9 C, Flintridge Prep (CA)

Tufts:

Isaac Friedman, 6'5 G, Millbrook School
Lukas Schmid, 6'2 G, Blair Academy (NJ)

Wesleyan:

Oscar Edelman, 6'8 F/C, New Hampton (#5 N.H.)

Williams:

Justin Belcher, 6'0 G, University School (OH)
Aidan Yates, 6'5 G, Charlottesville H.S. (VA)
Jackson Rein, 6'7 W, Ravenscroft School (NC)
Matthew Nachamkin, 6'7 W, Haldane School (NY)

[quicksilver]

Am seeing the following Middlebury commitment on Twitter:

Sawyer Ramey, 5-10, PG, Deerfield (PG)

[Bucket]

Am seeing the following Middlebury commitment on Twitter:

Sawyer Ramey, 5-10, PG, Deerfield (PG)

More on Sawyer Ramey: He's at Deerfield this year as a post-grad player, but he's a Vermont native and (semi) local kid, from Fair Haven (about 30 miles from Midd), where he was the 2023 Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year.

He was an AAU teammate of fellow commit Max Alberts; will be a lot of fun watching the two of them play together for 4 years.

[SpringSt7]

Weird stat that I had to quadruple check and still can't quite believe - Middlebury is 4-0 when Sam Stevens doesn't play and 1-5 when he does play. And the 1 win they had when he did play was against Endicott, when he played 11 minutes in the first half and left the game with an injury. They trailed at halftime and rallied back to win without him.

[nescac1]

Interesting point re Stevens, SpringSt, but for a bit of context, three of the wins without him were against teams ranked 289 or below in Massey, and of the losses with him five were vs top 65 Massey teams.  So it may be more of an issue of schedule ... I still think they are going to be better with him if they otherwise play a smaller, quicker lineup overall (Joseph and Osher in the backcourt). 

One more recruiting note, 6'9 but man Omar Kulenovic to Hamilton. 

[nescac1]

Testing testing is this working ?

[grabtherim]

I see your post.